An Unlikely Friendship
by MitsuGirls
Summary: A Fate-hating thief and a sarcastic State Alchemist get mixed up in the lives of the Elric Brothers! Will their help lead to good things? Or only bring more trouble for the boys? Only Fate knows! EdxOC AlxOC
1. Flower Shop Pit Stop

Amaya: Behold! Our very first chapter is here! :D The first chapter is Hazuki's. Hazuki sadly couldn't be here today to say her thoughts about the story, so I'm here to present it by myself! Without her supervision! Yay! XD I'm sure you'll learn the difference between our writing soon enough, it's pretty obvious. But we'll still tell you in case you reeeeally can't figure it out... ^_^; Anyways, this is her lovely OC, Alexandra! :D This is an older story of ours, written about a year or so ago, so luckily our writing has improved since this. I just now bothered to put it up... Anyway, if you end up liking this story a lot, let us know! We might actually pick it back up again. If you don't, well, please direct all flames towards my sister Hazuki. I don't wanna get burned. :(

Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the awesome characters in them... Thus the reason for lovely OC's! :D

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><p>Chapter 1: Flower Shop Pit Stop<p>

Central was awfully cheerful today, full of laughter and merry people going about their merry ways. The sun was glaring at the buildings, casting thick shadows across the ground. Full clouds trekked across the sky, also aiding the sun in the attempt to douse the city's happiness. Even the birds seemed to be annoyed with the residents of Central. I was sitting on a bench, my hands placed neatly on my lap. Somehow, the sun managed to reflect off of the rings that wrapped around both my left and right middle fingers. On my left was a silver ring with a golden lightning bolt, shining up at my stomach. On my right, a blue water drop attached to a silver band glowered at my face. I rolled my hand into a fist, redirecting the light elsewhere.

The only thing that could convince anyone that I was a State Alchemist, besides my name, was that I carried around the pocket watch. And, of course, my identification card, just in case. You never know when one could come in handy. I slid my hand into my black pants pocket and retrieved my ID. My picture was in a small square on the upper right-hand corner, though it was probably the most photogenic I've ever been. Beside the picture was a long list of information.

Name: Alexandra Halligan, State Alchemist

Rank: Colonel

I stopped reading and shoved the card back into the safety of my pocket. After a nice stretch, I set off towards the heart of Central. It was a very busy city, making me happy that I didn't decide to move in. My footsteps were almost nonexistent compared to the loud voices of everyone in the city. As quickly as I had wanted to go further into the city, I decided against it and turned around. Thank goodness I was close to the edge of the city.

There was one place I had to stop at before I left Central for the day. It was a nice little flower shop that my mother owned, and each time I left Central, I had to say goodbye, just in case I never made it back around. My father never got the chance to tell her goodbye, and since he can no longer protect her, I feel like it's my job to watch over her. That was one thing I liked about being a State Alchemist: intimidation. My mother always tells me that I scare away business, but it helps me to know that she's still there.

I walked down the sidewalk, ignoring the whispers and hushed voices as I did. Unfortunately, my mother liked to brag a bit about me and so I was quite well known around here (which, might I add, is not the best thing for a State Alchemist). Finally, a sweet aroma beckoned me into a store called Lady in the Flower Petals. I smiled to myself, opening the door and breathing in deeply.

The small shop was white and clean, full of brightly arranged flowers. No one was in at the time except for a woman behind the counter. Her blond hair was coiled into a tight bun, allowing me to fully see her face. It was soft, warm, and inviting, just like her chocolate brown eyes. She was quite young, about thirty-three, thirty-four years old, and her pallid face was aimed at me.

"Alexandra," her sweet voice greeted. She pulled her apron up over her head and tossed it aside, coming out from behind the counter. She immediately embraced me, her warmer skin slowly heating mine. Her hands remained on my upper arms, as if she was imprinting my face into her memory.

"Hi, Mom," I answered.

"I didn't know you were in Central. I could've made you dinner," she said. "How have you been, dear?"

"I've been doing the usual: chasing the bad guy, putting him in jail, being a puppet for the government," I answered. "It's great."

Mom smiled sympathetically. "You didn't have to become a State Alchemist. It was your decision, dear."

"I don't regret it, Mom," I assured her.

"Alexandra, I want you to be happy with what you do. I know that finding Dana's killer was your top priority."

Dana. That name stabbed my heart with a newly sharpened knife. Dana…my sister…the whole reason I became a State Alchemist. I know that becoming one would put my life in danger, but I always thought it was for a good cause. I never really thought about how it affected my own mother. She would never want to have to bury another one of her children, especially after burying our father two years ago.

"And it still is," I managed after several seconds of thinking. I attempted to change the subject. "I'm going to head out, Mom. I need a head start to get a place to sleep for tonight."

"You don't have to go so soon. I have a room for you to stay in," Mom promised.

"It's okay, Mom, really. I only came to Central for my job, but it seems that what I was looking for wasn't here."

My mother nodded, her brown eyes filling with sadness. "If you ever need a place to go, you can always come back with me, Alexandra."

"I know," I replied.

Mom pulled into another hug. She spun on her heels and broke a white flower off of its stem. "Here," she said, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear and placing the flower on top of it. "I know it's your favorite. Especially a white rose."

"Thanks, Mom."

"If you're ever in Central again, won't you come by here when you arrive? I'd love to talk with you."

"Of course." I gave her one last hug and faced the door. It was always hard leaving my mother alone, but she always had her flowers. My hand gripped the door handle, and before I walked out, I whispered two words, "Goodbye, Mom." I pushed the door open without looking back, knowing that if I did, my career would be at stake.

With a sigh, I began glancing at Wanted posters of the same girl, my target. Her light eyes had a glaring depth to them, even when the picture was black and white. She didn't threaten me, no matter how dangerous she was. I tore my eyes away from the posters and kept going, under the midday sun, out of the city and onto the soft dirt road.

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><p>Amaya: Short, sweet, and to the point, right? :D And yet she still managed more detail... How does she do it? Review!<p> 


	2. The Troubles of a Thief

Amaya: ...I'm not too sure how I feel about this chapter anymore. I liked it a year ago but now... *sighs* Eh, it's alright I guess. Anyways, this is MY chapter and my peculiar character named Katherine B. I liked the concept of having a thief as a character, I might throw that in somewhere in the future... Maybe... But I dont' think I'll make the character quite as... um... Well, just not like Katherine B. Enjoy my attempts at adding humor to the story! :D

IMPORTANT: We'll update like once a week for those of you who want to read more. And maybe in the next chapter Hazuki will be available! *crowd gasps* I know, right? Stay tuned! ;)

Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Chapter 2: The Troubles of a Thief

Have you heard of a little thing called Fate? I know, some people love the concept of it and are convinced that it only leads to good things. "Oh I met my wife one day when the bus was running late, it must have been Fate." Well, I'm sooooo happy for them. Really, I am. If Fate hated the rest of humanity like it hates me, we'd all be doomed. Because it was that same twist of fate that brought me right outside the limits of Central.

I'll spare you all the details, but basically I've done a lot of things that the military would frown upon. And so, thanks to all my little adventures, they're out to chop my head off. Which is exactly why I'm so pissed off about having to travel even two miles near the city. That place is like an anthill, just crawling with things that make you want to squirm. Anyway, I can't exactly avoid this place anymore than I am thanks to the fact that that part of the military is on the move. And they just happen to be walking along the same path that I had intended on taking. Don't ask me where I was I'm going, I wasn't really sure at the time. But it still gets my blood boiling whenever I think of those suits preventing me from walking down my road.

I paused in my walking and adjusted my bag, looking around for those damned blue outfits. Who knows how far out they'd go around here. The last time I was even in Central was when I was a little girl of about five years, and I still itched to get out of the place.

I scratched my head, lost in my thoughts, when I heard voices coming up from behind me. I cocked my head a bit, trying to pinpoint their location. It sounded like two men arguing about something. I hid behind some trees near the road, crouching down by the lower branches.

Slowly the men pulled into view on a cart pulled by a beautiful, white horse. I could only see the area where the men were sitting, the back half of it was completely covered. Then, finally, I could hear their conversation.

"The deal was that _I_ would help plan the heist. Then once the whole thing was over we'd split the jewels fifty-fifty!" The smaller, mousy looking man was shouting. My ears perked up at the word jewels.

The over one was hunched over, holding the reins in his huge hands. He was still taller than the other man despite this position.

"The deal will be whatever I want it to be because _I have the gun,_" he retorted, not quite as angry as the other man.

Ok sorry, I have to stop you for a second. I have this reeeeeeeally bad habit, you see. I'm a bit of a kleptomaniac. It's not like it's impulsive or anything. I just get bored a lot, and stealing is… well entertaining if you want the truth. First, you plan out your theft. Then, you commit the crime. And finally, you run or hide for a few days until the military gets off your back about it. Of course, I've become a bit famous now, so it's more like months that I have to be on the lam for until a new criminal pops up and they forget about me. I think I'm the only person I know who actually likes serial killers. After all, it makes my crimes seem like child's play.

I grinned as I took the minute I had left to plan before they reached my hiding spot to launch my surprise attack. Finally I grabbed the knife at my waist and charged, yelling as I burst out of the tree line and ran at the horse.

I cut the horses rein and jumped up towards the men as the horse took off running, knocking out the one that had mentioned he had a gun first. Then I paused again, listening to see if they had any other companions in the back. When no noises came after thirty seconds and went to investigate the jewels they had.

I gasped as I took a peek at what they had taken. Sure, there were rubies and sapphires and other precious gems. But currently had all of my attention was the pair of hiking shoes at the foot of the box of gems. I guess they belonged to either one of their girlfriends or maybe the small one also had small feet. But they were just my size and it absolute PERFECT condition. I immediately ripped off my battered old ones and put them on, sighing in utter bliss. I don't really have a thing for shoes. In fact, I probably wouldn't even care less about them normally. But I can't stand having aching feet. It's truly my biggest pet peeve. If my feet are not comfortable I will refuse to do anything. If my feet so much as twitch a way they shouldn't, I. GET. MAD. And it's not like I can walk into a nearby town and ask for a pair. I really have to go out of the way to get a new one.

I smiled happily as I grabbed a diamond on my way out of the cart, not really interested in the rest of the treasures since my feet were walking on clouds. I did a little dance and bowed towards the men still out cold on the cart, silently thanking them for a little bit of heaven. Then I turned on my heel and followed the hoof prints on the path, looking for the white horse that had taken off.

I finally found it near a creek, drinking some water. I approached cautiously at first, but it didn't even raise its head. It must be pretty use to humans then. I checked it's condition and finally sat down beside it, thinking of a name for her as I munched on an apple from my bag.

"Brother, I think I hear water coming from down there," a boy's voice said a few feet away from me.

I rushed to grab my bag and move the mare away from the creek behind some trees, cursing at myself for not paying attention to my surroundings.

"Hey, you're right. I hear it too Al," another boy replied.

"Come on," I whispered to the mare, which was turning out to be a lot more stubborn than I originally believed it to be. "Listen, your Highness, we can drink later, let's go!"

I finally got her behind some of the trees and brush in time to escape the boys' notice. I sighed in frustration when I realized how easy it would be to spot a white horse in a forest.

"Alright! Water!" one of the boys yelled enthusiastically as I tried in vain to move the stubborn horse further into the trees.

"Um, brother? What's that over there?" the boy named Al questioned.

"What?" A pause. I cursed under my breath again and tugged harder on her reins. "Are you talking about that white thing? It looks like a horse. That's weird. Let's go check it out, Al."

Great, now I had to knock out two more people today. I can't really have them spreading around that I was just outside Central with a white horse.

I took a deep breath and sprang out from behind the horse, making me experience deja'vu.

"Sorry about this bo-" I stopped in my tracks at the sight of a short, blonde boy and a large suit of armor looking at me. It wasn't so much the boy that shocked me. I wasn't really expecting a giant like that when I heard two boys' voices. I doubt anyone would actually.

It took about a second for me collect myself, but that was more than enough time for the blonde boy, who immediately clapped his hands together and slammed them to the ground. Suddenly my feet were swallowed by the earth, my knife was knocked out of my hand, and my wrists were grabbed by… well the ground. I frowned at this turn of events. Out of the two of them, I really wasn't expecting the short one to be an alchemist.

"Why were you trying to kill us?" the boy demanded.

"I'm not!" I yelled at him. "Look, if we're going to talk, can you at least let me go?"

"Sorry, I can't do that. I don't know what you might do. Now answer my question," he responded.

I sighed, annoyed. "Fine, but I really hate doing this." I said. And then my feet and hands were free. I bent over and picked up my knife, giving them time to grasp the situation.

"Brother, she's an alchemist," the suit of armor said in the boy's voi- WAIT A SECOND! The boy's voice?

Now it was my turn to be confused. "_You're _the boy that I heard from before?" I asked in bewilderment. "But… but you're… Huge! How did you even get yourself inside of that big suit of armor! You can't be older than twelve!"

"I'm fourteen actually," he responded, sounding a little miffed about the comment.

"Right sorry," I said, rolling my eyes. "But that still-"

"Hang on a second," the blonde boy interrupted, appearing to be thinking hard. "How did you get out of that lock? You didn't even move."

"It's a long story, and I'm not in the mood. Look, you guys seem like nice boys…" I eyed the one in the suit, still wondering about him. "But I really have somewhere to be. So could you do me a favor and maybe not mention to anybody that I was here?"

"But why did you jump out at us like that?" the suit of armor questioned as I began walking towards my horse ignoring them.

Then a wall of rock was in my path. I rolled my eyes again, very irritated with the short alchemist.

"Tell me your name," the alchemist demanded. I looked back at him, opening my mouth to answer when I noticed a chain of something sticking out of his pocket.

"Tell me what's in your pocket," I retorted, eyeing the thing warily.

"It's a silver pocket watch," he responded. "I'm a state alchemist."

I made the wall of rock sink back to the earth again and leaped onto my horse, hoping she knew how to ride well.

"Stop!" he yelled, trying to block off my way with alchemy again. It was a good thing that the horse was fast, or I may never have gotten out of there without a scrape.

I drooped on my horse's back, exhausted from walking for days and lack of food. I pulled back on her reins and stopped her at a good place to stop for the night, since it the sun was already setting and Central wasn't an option for me. Hopefully those thieves or the boys would cross my path tonight. But as I made myself comfortable and my eyelids drooped, I knew that Fate would never be that kind.

"Are you going to turn her in brother?" I heard a familiar voice say.

"I don't know Al, I really don't like doing this kind of thing, and besides, its not like I have anything to confirm her identity. All I've been told is that the thief is a girl and can perform alchemy. I didn't actually get a name. But it's not like she would tell me hers anyway," the other voice responded.

I pushed myself up groggily, trying to get a hold of my surroundings. Two boys… Alchemy… Seriously? Again? It figures…

"Look," I said, the sleepiness still evident in my voice. "I don't care if you kill me now, but could you do it while I sleep. I am truly and utterly exhausted." I yawned loudly, proving the point.

The blonde boy actually laughed a bit. "I don't think I'll even get involved. There's another stated alchemist combing the woods for you as we speak, so I think I'll let it slide unless she shows up."

"Oh how lovely," I muttered. I turned to the boy, rubbing my eye with my left hand and held out my right. "Katherine B."

"Edward Elric," he said, shaking my hand. I frowned at how cold and hard it was. He took off his glove and showed me it. "Auto mail".

"Oh," I said stupidly, still half-asleep. I turned to the armored guy and shook his too, informing me that they were brothers.

"It's nice to meet you both…" I frowned. "Scratch that, it's nice to meet you Al. I'm not too big on state alchemists. Sorry shorty."

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CALLING SHORT. I'LL HAVE YOU-" I'll spare you the rest of his tantrum, but you get the gist of it.

I held up my hands to him. "Geez, ok fine. You're not short. You just have self-image problems. Good night."

I laid back down, not particularly interested in if they would stay here until morning. But I was still slightly curious as to why the younger brother wore a suit of armor.

"What about the other state alchemist? Alex? Aren't you worried about her finding you?" Al asked, concerned.

I chuckled a bit. The fact that he had concern for a criminal was about as odd as his attire. "I quit worrying about being found a long time ago, figured it would save me a few heart attacks. And if she does, then I'll just run from her like I did from Edward. No big deal," I assured him.

"Nice horse," I heard someone say from behind me. "Did you steal that too?"

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><p>Amaya: Not too painful, right? ^_^; Well, let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is appreciated. (Bear in mind, of course, this is something I dug up from the dark hole that is my documents folder.) :D And if you have questions about Katherine's alchemy, don't be shy! It's a bit complicated sometimes...<p> 


	3. Katherine B

Amaya: Hello! It's me again! XD Sadly Hazuki could not be here again today... :( However, this time I do have a message from her! :D

Hazuki's Message: The anticipation of Alexandra and Katherine's meeting is finally over! What will happen when they meet?

Amaya: And I think that said it all! Read on to find out! XD

Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. But the OCs Katherine and Alexandra are our lovely creations! ^_^

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><p>Chapter Three: Katherine B.<p>

Clouds of dust marked my footsteps on the dirt road. It had been about an hour since I left Central, though time passed rather quickly when I wasn't paying attention. My target, an alchemist and a criminal, roamed about Central. I had no idea where she could be, but I hoped that someone that I could meet along the road would be able to shed some light on my unsuccessful search.

Somewhere in the vicinity, I could hear a faint trickle of water. From my guess, a creek or a river of some magnitude was nearby. And it was pretty warm outside today, especially since I was wearing a dark green tank top and a long-sleeved jacket over top of that. My feet glided across the ground as I was driven to find the running water.

"She went that way," a childish voice commented from directly ahead of me. I immediately dropped down, trying to remain unseen and undetected in case this person was a threat.

"Yeah, but I don't think she's that dangerous for us, Al," a second person replied.

Al? Al Elric, maybe? I wasn't too sure, but what's life without a little risk? I rustled the bushes to announce my arrival and stepped out from behind them. Standing between me and the river was an odd duo: a suit of armor and a blond haired boy.

"Alex?" the suit of armor asked.

"Hey, Al, Ed," I said. "It's been a while."

"A year and a half," Ed answered.

I smiled at him. "Hey, I've been tailing someone for a while, and I was hoping that you two could shed some light on the matter. You wouldn't have happened to have seen a girl with brown hair, green eyes, can perform alchemy, and happens to steal for a living, would you?"

Al turned his head towards his brother. "She was here not even five minutes ago."

"Which way did she go?" I questioned, my hoped rekindled.

"Northwest," Ed said. "You're the State Alchemist that's been trailing the Alchemy Thief?"

"Without any luck," I added, passing them to take a drink of the clean water. I dipped my right hand into the cool liquid, powering up my water ring as I did. The liquid tasted delicious when I swallowed it, and I savored it for the moment. As I stood, I dried my hand on my pants leg, turning to face Al and Ed. "I have to get going, guys," I said. "See you around."

"Bye, Alex!" Al called.

I waved at him as I charged forward, pleased with the new lead that I had on my target. I hadn't quite broken out in a run yet, just a brisk walk. In another half-hour or so, I'd be searching for another river, trying to quench my thirst.

Four hours and twenty minutes later, the moon was taking over the sky's throne and the stars followed their leader. I was searching in the dark, trying to find any signs that my target had been where I was. Since she moved from the trail, I had lost her. The footprints turned almost nonexistent once they touched the concealing barrier of leaves on the ground. Whether it was done intentionally or not, she was excellent at covering her tracks. And she had the upper hand; I wasn't nocturnal.

Then, I saw an orange glow several meters away. I could hear three voices, two boys and a girl. Maybe they were just campers, but I could "survey" the area and offer words of safety. That's what a State Alchemist does. I think. I slowly, quietly, stealthily crept on the scene, trying to eavesdrop on their conversations before I interrupted.

"What about the other state alchemist? Alex? Aren't you worried about her finding you?" asked a young voice.

"I quit worrying about being found a long time ago, figured it would save me a few heart attacks. And if she does, then I'll just run from her like I did from Edward. No big deal," the girl stated.

"Nice horse," I said with authority ringing in my voice. "Did you steal that too?"

The girl spun around, her eyes laced with confusion and sleepless nights. She finally seemed to wake up and stood. "Who are you?" she demanded.

"The name's Alexandra. But you can call me Alex, Alchemist Thief."

She winced slightly. "What did you just call me?"

"What, do you not like being called a thief? Because that's exactly what you are," I growled.

Anger flashed in her eyes. "Call me a thief _one more time_," she challenged.

"Alex," Ed said in an attempt to reason with me.

"Thief," I accused.

"That's it!" she yelled, standing awkwardly before the ground pulled out from underneath my feet like a rug. I fell and landed on my back, meeting my possible demise: a thick, heavy blanket of earth, ready to tuck me into my last bed. I jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the rock and dirt from crushing my foot. Using my hands to flip myself into the air, I did a sort of backhand spring seven or eight feet above the ground. I twisted the lightning bolt and the water droplet on my rings one hundred eighty degrees, activating the symbols hiding in the charms. I aimed my right hand at the girl, sending a wave of ice cold water in her direction. I spun myself around and released a few jolts of lightning after the water, hoping the two would interact.

The girl summoned a wall of earth in front of her, somehow reflecting my attacks like a mirror. Water droplets coated the area in cold liquid, whereas the lightning charged towards Ed. He ducked, but the lightning brushed the top of his hair's antennae before striking a tree. "HEY, WATCH WHERE YOU'RE AIMING!" he shouted.

Both my enemy and I paid no attention to the Elric brothers that were going out of their way to stop our fight. It was pointless; neither of us was willing to give up. Finally, Ed broke the fight apart; clapping his hands together and somehow managing to fling us away from each other. I tried to stand up, but Ed restrained me from attacking my target. Al was doing the same for the girl.

I dusted myself off, stealing glares at the girl through Al's back.

"The only reason they broke us up was because they were afraid that I'd kill you," she snapped.

"Hmph." I closed my eyes and crossed my arms. "Why did you leave her alive?" I whispered to Ed, finally allowing my eyes to look into his.

"You sounded so determined to get her…"

"C'mon, Edward Elric. I know you can come up with a better excuse than that."

"We were going to let you turn her in. After all, she's a pretty decent fighter and—"

"Are you implying that I'm not?" I questioned, giving him a nasty stare.

"No, but think about it. Al and I would've had a pretty difficult time trying to defeat her."

"Defeat or kill?"

His expression was sort of unreadable. "You know that I wouldn't have killed her unless she deserved it."

"Believe me, she does," I growled quietly.

"Alex, if she poses as a threat, we'll take her in. But until then, her alchemy is something that we've never seen before," he mentioned.

"If I need tips on stealing something, I'll go to her," I muttered. My eyes stared over Ed's shoulder at the girl arguing with Al. She never made any signs or movements. Where were her alchemy circles? Maybe they were concealed like mine? That theory exited my mind. Then I noticed something different about her. The soles of her shoes were completely worn out, like she had been walking for twenty years in the same pair. I thought I was just seeing things until Al, cautiously, allowed her near me. My eyes zeroed in on the bottoms of her feet, scanning for something that shouldn't be there. Her toes lifted high enough in the air with each step for me to notice red lines marking their territory on the balls of her feet.

That reminded me that I needed to stop the flow of power to my body. I twisted my rings into their "locked" position and waited for the girl to begin speaking. "Alex," Al started, "this is Katherine B. Katherine, this is Alexandra Halligan."

"State Alchemist trash," she spat.

"Watch it. It wasn't even five minutes ago that you were a stray that no one would've taken home."

"Look, you—"

"Girls!" Ed interjected, stepping in front of me to block Katherine's stare from reaching me, though Ed was short enough to see over.

I balled my fists, channeling my anger into my clenched hands. It was stupid to fight again; Ed and Al would stop it just as quickly as it would begin. I inhaled deeply through my nose, enjoying the strong smell of the crackling fire. Smoke billowed out from the treetops. The more I thought about the fire, the more I began to calm myself down.

With closed eyes, I folded my leg underneath myself and sat on the ground. The heat of the fire welcomed me, beckoning me closer into its ring of warmth. Heat stuck to my eyelids, but if I opened them, they smoke would force them to water, and I didn't need to come off as the crying type.

Al and Ed were speaking somewhere to my right, apparently still standing between Katherine and me. I heard a thump beside me, and cracked my eyelid open to see Katherine splayed out on the ground about five yards away. The left corner of my mouth turned up as I sort of meditated in front of the raging flames.

I finally allowed my eyelids to remain open while I played with my hair. But I noticed something that wasn't there. The flower my mom gave me! Where was it? I searched the ground around me. No sign of it. I spun around and looked around where I had been standing. Nothing. To anyone else, it was just another rose and I could always get another. But to me, it was a rose that my mother had given me, maybe even my last one if I never made it back to her. I jumped up from my spot and retraced my steps, quite literally walking in between Ed and Al and turning in circles until I found a single petal. I knelt down and picked it up, tightly balling my fist when I realized why the flower had fallen out of my hair. My eyes fell on Katherine's form. The flower was probably under the earth that she had raised to crush me. _The flower took the bullet for me_, I thought dramatically. I dared not tell Al and Ed the truth behind why I was walking around like an idiot. They might also think it was a stupid idea. But, then again, I heard that something had happened with one of their parents…

"Are you alright, Alex?" Al asked.

I looked back up at him and smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just fussing about something that's replaceable." I showed him the flower petal.

Al seemed to understand. His heart had no boundaries when it came to caring about people's feelings. I didn't think he would press a person to their limits. Ed, on the other hand…

"Katherine," Al said.

The addressed girl lazily rolled her head around to face him. "What?"

"You can go now."

"Great," she murmured.

"Wait a second! Why are we letting her go?" I asked. "If this goes on for too long, I'll—"

"You're not going to lose your job, Alex," Ed promised. "We can go talk to Colonel Mustang."

"But it's not just my job, it's my—"

"Swallow your pride, Alex." Ed's edgier tone shocked me, though my face remained expressionlessly unsatisfied. "We'll take care of it."

I _really_ didn't want to place my dignity and reputation in the Elric brothers' hands, but if they saw it fit, then so be it. I turned to tell Katherine to watch her back, but before I could tell her I'd be after her, she was gone.

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><p>Amaya: *le gasp*! Where could she have possibly wondered off to? And yes, I realize it hasn't been a whole week since we last update but... I just had to put another one up! ^_^ Luckily Hazuki agreed and ta-da! I got it to you guys early ;) We'll be posting up Chapter 4 in few days, so be on the lookout for it! :D<p>

Reviews are always welcome and appreciated. And if you have a question or theory about Alexandra or Katherine's alchemy, feel free to send us a message. :) And it doesn't have to be me answering a question or review. You can request Hazuki's answer or opinion any time! I'll find a way to get her on here. ;)


	4. Transportation Or Meat?

Amaya: Welcome to another chapter of An Unlikely Friendship! This is from Katherine's point of view again, although I hope you find the difference between them quite obvious now. ^_^; Enjoy!

Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

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><p>Chapter 4: Transportation or Meat: That is the Question<p>

Three weeks with this damned horse and I was ready to turn it into a nice dinner. She seems to think that I'm supposed to pamper _her_ and make things easier for _her_. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that she would crush me the second _she _tried to ride _me_; she probably would get right on. Everytime I even attempted to clamber onto her back she would kick and bite and throw a tantrum until I pulled out an apple. I swear that's the only reason the thing even goes along with me. Unfortunately for me it means that I get less food _and _I still have to walk everywhere.

I haven't picked out a name for her yet, but the way I keep cussing, it probably believes one of those words to be its name. And yet, the evil white devil still walks beside me for one sole reason: I'm stubborn.

I am absolutely, completely, and foolishly convinced that I can actually break this horse. It's even more frustrating because I rode her once before while running from the Elric brothers. And let me tell you, it was amazing. She responded to every single one of my movements perfectly. And _she _knows that _I _know that. Which is exactly why she's acting like this! …Or maybe I'm just reading too much into this. But whatever the reason, this thing WILL accept me as its rider, one way or another.

I groaned as the thing bit at me and pulled away from the mud I was about to lead her in. Of course it refused to get dirty, the pompous thing…

"_Excuse me_, princess. I forgot you had serious issues with even a speck of dirt on your hooves," I muttered. I sighed and led her by her reins around the stupid muddy ground, stumbling a bit. I looked down at my feet and let out a yell of anger.

My beloved hiking shoes, the ones I had been dreaming about ever since I was a young little girl, were torn and ripped. I would barely even call them rags they were in such awful shape. I'd probably be better off barefoot but I still felt a bond with them and refused to toss them like I so badly wanted to do with the horse. I had to keep using my alchemy to get away from all the soldiers that had been sent looking for me around Central ever since meeting that witch of an alchemist. She had probably gone straight into the city and told everyone she met that I was around. And so, running from the military had lead to the sad ending of my life with good hiking shoes.

I sighed and looked up at the horse, and could almost swear it wore a look of disgust at the destroyed shoes.

"Oh yeah," I started, irritated. "You're not in such a great shape yourself! Your coat is covered in dirt and sweat and your mane is in such a state of disaster it could pass for a lion's!"

The horse snorted in response and drew her ears back. I took a few steps away from her, knowing the signs of when she wanted to bite well.

"Whatever," I muttered. "Let's just keep going. Maybe I won't have to eat you tonight if we stumble across a town."

I tugged at the horse and kept moving, knowing all of my walking was in vain. I had left all of the bigger cities behind, trying to get out in the country and away from the military. What I really wanted was water. We hadn't been able to find a creek or river for a while, and the rain from the previous day was probably what created the mud.

Finally I exited the tree line and found myself looking at field after field of grass. And dotted all along these fields were…

"HOUSES!" I shouted in joy. "PEOPLE! FOOD!" I began to race down the slight hill I was on, forgetting my horse until I reached the bottom and went back for it, not knowing why I bothered.

Now I just needed to decide whether to hope if the people here would be hospitable or if I would have to take a few things. I shifted from foot to foot, contemplating the decision.

Finally I figured a change of pace would be good. I would try to ask for food and a place to stay for the night. I hoped that I was far out enough from big cities that the townsfolk around here wouldn't recognize me.

I walked down a dirt path with the horse, noting a big pile of rubble on the way towards the one I had picked out for the night, almost as if it had been burned at one point. I would have stopped and investigated, but my growling stomach distracted me. The house I'd picked out wasn't terribly big, but it looked really cozy. Especially since the sun was setting and it was starting to get chilly outside.

I left the horse in the front yard, not really caring if she left or not. Then I approached the front door, hesitating a bit before I knocked.

"Oh, I'll get it, Granny," a familiar voice said from inside the house. Then the door was open. "Hello?"

"Al?" I asked in surprise at the sight of the suit of armor. "Do you live here?"

"Katherine?" he questioned, his own surprise evident in his voice. "Brother, Katherine is here! Come in."

"Um, hi," I said nervously. I looked around the room and focused on the people sitting around a table eating dinner. I spotted Ed, an old woman, a blonde girl, and… her. I narrowed my eyes at the sight of her. "Trying to convince them I'm a thief too?"

She stood up, her hands placed on the table in front of her. "I have no need to; you're probably just going to steal something from them anyway."

I bit back my retort, remembering that I had thought about doing just that a few minutes earlier. I continued to glower at her as Ed stood up from his seat, opening his mouth to stop another argument.

"That's enough," the old woman interrupted. "You are both guests in my house and I would prefer it if you didn't fight while you are here. If you want to argue, feel free to step outside, _off of my property_."

"I apologize," I said to her, bowing my head slightly while Alex did the same. "I would hate to be a further nuisance, sorry for interrupting your dinner." I turned around and left the house, grabbing my horse's reins from where she still stood. I walked a few feet down the road and stopped at the trunk of a tree, plopping down at its base.

I sighed and leaned my head back against it, all of my fury drained out of my body due to my growling stomach. I was daydreaming about horsemeat when I heard clanking come my way. I frowned and tried to make out what it was in the darkness.

"Oh, hi Al," I greeted.

He walked up to me and crouched down, holding out something in his hands. "Here, it's for you. I'm sorry I couldn't bring you the stew, Brother already ate it all."

My eyes lit up at the roll of bread, the bunch of grapes, and a few apples. It was as good as any precious gem to me. "THANK YOU AL!" I shouted enthusiastically. "THANK YOU SO MUCH!" I grabbed the food out of his hands, stuffing my face in a very impolite manner, but was too hungry to care. I managed to give an apple to the horse, seeing as how she probably would've snatched it from me at any moment.

"You're welcome," Al giggled and stood back up, looking at the horse. "What's her name?"

I polished off my second apple before I answered, giving myself time to think. "Princess," I told him. A part of me was disappointed at what I said. I could never eat something I'd named.

"She's a pretty horse, it suits her," he commented.

I laughed at this. "Yeah, more than you know, Al." I ate my last grape and then looked up at him. "Really, thank you for the food. I was starving."

"Why didn't you just transmute some food, Katherine? It probably would've been better than walking on an empty stomach," he asked, humor in his voice.

I blinked up at him, confused. "I can do that?" I questioned.

"Yes, like transmuting grass into bread," he said. Then concern was in his voice, "Do you not know how to do that?"

I looked away, not comfortable with the question and shook my head. "I don't really study alchemy," I responded, switching the topic before he could ask more questions. "So do you live here then?"

"Well, not really. It's Winry's house, we just come and visit every now and then. She's like family to us."

"So is Alex part of this great big happy family?" I asked sarcastically.

"She's traveling with us for a while," he said.

I ducked my head and smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry Al, I've been acting like a child. I don't mean to get you involved in a vendetta against her, that was unfair of me. And you're still helping me out by giving me your own food. Augh, I can be such a jerk…"

"No, no you're not a jerk! I think you're really nice," he said quickly.

I chuckled. "Thank you again, Al."

"So, why do you hate Alex so much anyway?" he asked curiously.

I frowned. "Well, she's a state alchemist. I can't stand the military. And she called me a thief." I pulled out a few blades of grass and began to rip them into shreds. "I admit it, I steal things. But I'm no thief." I yawned loudly.

"Oh… Well, if you want to stay with us for the night, you can. Granny says it's okay," Al offered.

I considered the offer, and decided to take it. No matter how much I hated that girl, I really wanted to sleep in a bed for once.

"I'd love to stay Al, thank you again," I smiled up at him and stood up. I grabbed Princess's reins and began to walk with him back to the house.

"Hey Al," I said to him. "Do you think that you could spare a pair of shoes too?"

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><p>Amaya: Ooooo, more has been revealed about Katherine's alchemy!<br>And the whole relationship between her and Princess is actually based off of real events from my life. I rode an Arabian horse named Princess, we hated each other, and the rest is history. -_-;

I hope my chapter amused you and once again, if you have questions, feel free to send us a message! :D

**~Review~ XD**


	5. Unexpected Visitors

Hey guys! We appreciated all of the helpful reviews we've been receiving since this story's been posted. However, an anonymous flamer has been brought to our attention and I would strongly encourage that very same person to stop reading our "generic" fiction and I wish him or her unhappy fiction hunting. Thank you :)  
>~Hazuki~<p>

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><p>Chapter Five: Unexpected Visitors<p>

_"Fullmetal, this was her assignment, not yours!" _Colonel Mustang's voice rang in my mind. I had never seen him so aggravated at someone who did what they judged to be right. Or wrong. But, Ed had put on a convincing face, and with the help of Al, he had made up a story for it.

"Alex, dinner's done!" Winry called up the stairs.

"Be there in a minute!" I replied, keeping my eyes on the sunset.

_"Alex, you need to continue searching for the girl. She's a threat! Take these two with you and go."_ I flinched as I remembered his face when he glared at me. Roy and I usually got along well together, as friends, even. But this girl was such an important target that he raised his voice just enough to scare me to death. It was almost as scary as him smiling. I sighed deeply and hauled myself off of the bed, knowing that if I didn't show up for dinner soon that the Elric brothers would come and get me.

My footsteps were quiet on the stairs until I reached the first floor. I walked through the house and into the dining area, with four familiar faces seated around the table. One chair was empty, placed right beside Ed. Although a smile was on my face, my eyes betrayed the fact that I was still quite shaken up from my meeting with Roy. Ed had been taking a notice to this behavior of mine and made small attempts to assure me that everything would be okay. But it still didn't settle well with me.

I sat in the remaining chair and Al kindly ladled hot beef stew into a bowl. I thanked him for the gesture and, after blowing on a spoonful of my dinner a few times, tasted and enjoyed my meal. A sort of awkward silence filled the air, but Ms. Rockbell broke it by asking something about State Alchemists. Ed was quick to answer her, mainly because my mouth was full.

_"You've been a State Alchemist for almost three years now! You should be able to catch this criminal!"_ Colonel Mustang hadn't just gotten onto my case. No, he was quite brutal about it. Maybe it was because I've always had a perfect record, so to speak. Or maybe it was because this girl was really so dangerous that he was trying to scare me into taking some backup. I doubted the second theory.

_"You shouldn't yell at her! At least she tried! And so did we!"_ Al had defended me from the Colonel's words, just like I was his sister.

It puzzled me. It truly puzzled me. Why would he have went out of his way to yell and rant and rave about me getting this chick when he knows I have other assignments? Was there something about her that he just wasn't telling me? I had no idea. I hoped that when Ed had his talk with Roy after our meeting, something was placed in my hopeless defense. But it _baffled_ me! Roy never yelled, and I was one of the few people that should be last in line for a hearing aid on his account. Maybe he was having a bad day. Or maybe he was trying to protect me from something. Or maybe…

"Alex? You're doing it again," Ed shattered my thoughts.

I caught myself eating my food with a blank expression. It had been happening since we left Colonel Mustang's office three weeks ago. "Sorry," I murmured as someone knocked on the door.

"Oh, I'll get it, Granny," Al offered. He rose from his chair and opened the door. "Hello?"

"Al? Do you live here?" a girl asked.

"Katherine?" Al turned around and looked at Ed. "Brother, Katherine is here! Come in."

"Um, hi." Her voice held a twinge of uneasiness as she entered the house. Her eyes floated about the room until they locked onto me. She glared and said, "Trying to convince them I'm a thief too?"

I stood, leaning on my hands that rested on the table. "I have no need to, you're probably just going to steal something from them anyway."

She seemed to struggle with herself, as if debating on whether or not to start another fight. Her eyes were like green knives, trying to find a way to pierce me. Ed jumped up almost immediately, about to say something when Granny interrupted.

"That's enough," she barked. "You are both guests in my house and I would prefer it if you didn't fight while you are here. If you want to argue, feel free to step outside, _off of my property_."

"I apologize. I would hate to be a further nuisance, sorry for interrupting your dinner." Katherine held a sort of rejected expression as she exited the house, the door closing behind her.

Al had followed Katherine when she left. However, to my sincere and utter displeasure, he invited her to spend the night under the same roof as me. A pickpocket does not belong in a house with a bunch of innocent people, but, until she made a move to kill one of us, I wouldn't touch her (no matter how much I wanted to thwart the little brat).

I was back on my bed, now looking up at the stars that dotted the sky. It was a very peaceful night, with a slight breeze outside to rustle the trees and create a natural symphony to lull me to sleep. With one last glance at my rings, I closed my eyes for the night.

A strange feeling settled over me. I felt like I was being watched and, at the same time, felt like I was about to be tickled to death. Quite literally. My eyes flashed open and darted about the bedroom, and that's when I noticed two dark figures looming just inside of my door. I surveyed them under my lashes, trying to conceal that I was awake.

I was relieved to find that my hands were both under the blankets and touching. Carefully, I spun the symbols on my rings and prepared myself to fight these people, whoever they were. They turned their backs to me, giving me the opportunity to quietly get out of the bed and stand on my own two feet. I placed my water hand in front of me before I addressed the men. "Who are you?"

They both craned their necks to look at me, confused and surprised. The one on my left took a step forward and kicked, his foot about three yards away. But, somehow, it had a strong enough force to reach me. I was propelled out of the window. Glass shattered and became embedded in my skin, slicing my shirt and pants in random places. I soared through the air and my impact with the ground made the glass dig even further into my skin. My legs hurt, but I managed to lift myself off of the ground before the men followed me out of the house.

I pointed my palm forward, releasing a gush of cold water at my enemies. As soon as I was pleased with my output, I allowed a lightning shock wave to spiral around the water, controlling both to attack the one with the powerful foot. Both men easily dodged my attack, jumping out of the way to allow the water and lightning combination to race towards the house. I clenched my fists, forcing my watery and lightning attacks to cave in on themselves.

A smirk crossed my enemy's face as the both of them advanced towards me. One had some kind of special boot on and he kindly demonstrated how it worked, stomping on the ground. The earth transmuted into never-ending spears, but only one actually came at me. Pain shocked me as I moved out of the way. The tip of the blade cut my right cheek, leaving a decently deep gash on the side of my face. Blood rushed to the surface and trickled out of the wound, staining the ground with crimson splotches. I crouched down before the long snaky weapon could circle around and hit me from behind. Once the rope-like earth passed over my head, it bowed in towards its controller and slashed me. My back collided with the ground, temporarily knocking the wind out of me. A deep gash crossed the smallest part of my waist, furiously pumping blood and soaking my shirt.

"Alex!" someone shouted. I clutched my stomach and stayed on the ground, my body forcing me to lay there and wither away until whoever finally noticed I was gone helped me. By the voice, I guessed that it was Ed. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and attempted to keep my torso as straight as possible in my failed attempt to stand. I did, however, manage to sit up and balance myself on my left arm.

Ed chased the two away, his face filled with concern when he finally looked at me. He ran over and examined my worst cut. With a tender carefulness, Ed lifted me and moved towards the house. The living room lights were already turned on, blinding any unwelcome visitors. Al met us at the door, his shocked voice filling the air and directing all attention towards me.

"Winry, find something for Alexandra to change into," Granny instructed. "Put her on the floor, Ed."

Al was pacing about for a few seconds before sitting down beside Katherine. "First Katherine goes off and gets herself hurt—"

"I told you, Al, I'm fine," Katherine muttered.

If Al could have changed his facial expressions, I'm sure that he would have begun pouting. "Still, I don't like seeing you hurt."

Ed was now sitting beside me, gloves and jacket both off. I noticed that Katherine was staring intently at his auto mail, almost amazed at the mechanics or something along those lines. My eyes wandered around the room and— "OUCH!"

"Just hold still," Ed calmly replied, gently tugging shards of glass out of my arms.

I bit my lip and closed my eyes, focusing on something other than the sharp pain of the glass. Granny lifted my ripped shirt, but the blood stuck to it. She pressed her cold fingers into my skin, trying to separate it from the drenched cloth. After several minutes of clenched eyes, the shirt was away from my skin. Granny folded it up just far enough to clean my wound and bandage it, reserving some of my modesty. Liquid stung the cut, but it made me feel better to feel the blood being wiped away. Another several minutes passed before I was bandaged up and rid of all of the glass. With the help of Winry, I made it to a bathroom and painfully slid out of my ripped attire and into a comfy pair of long shorts and a baggy tee shirt. I thanked Winry before slowly beginning my ascent upstairs. Footsteps mirrored mine until I got to the top of the staircase, revealing Ed.

"You're taking my room until we get another window," he said, blocking me from my former sleeping quarters.

"Where are you going to sleep?" I asked.

"On the floor," he answered.

I rolled my eyes, stepping into his room and piling myself into his bed. From the hall, I could hear Al conversing with Katherine until a door shut. Although I didn't really do it intentionally, I smiled to myself. Ed left a crack in our door and made himself a bed of blankets. I tossed (as best as I could) a pillow at him, studying him until he finished getting comfortable. "Goodnight, Ed."

"Night."

I laid on my back, eyes closed, towards the ceiling. I flipped my head to the edge of the bed and looked down at him. "Ed?"

"Yeah, Alex?" he responded, keeping his eyes closed.

"Thank you."

He gave a sort of happier sigh through his nose. "You're welcome."

I gave him a small smile and sleep got the better of me, forcing me into a shorter night of thoughts and dreams.

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><p>I have to thank Amaya for maintaining this story while I've been busy. Thanks for reading! :3<p>

~Hazuki~


	6. My Past Still Haunts My Present

Amaya: Sorry about the late update! Hazuki and I have been pretty busy and will continue to be busy for a very long time! So please bear with us! :) We'll try to update when we can. Anyway, this chapter is basically what happened to Katherine during the mysterious attack! I hope you enjoy it! :D

Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

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><p>Chapter 6: My Past Still Haunts My Present<p>

I don't know what it was that woke me up that night. Call it woman's intuition or all those nights running from men with guns, but I was awake and ready when that alchemist walked through my door.

"Glad to see I'll actually have a bit of fun with you," she said, smirking in the moonlight.

"Who are you?" I questioned, trying to figure out why her face seemed familiar. "I know you…"

She scowled, anger flaring up in her eyes. "Figures a brat like you wouldn't even bother remembering what lives you destroyed," she spat. Then she was grinning again. "But don't worry, I'll make you pay for what you've done."

There wasn't any time to be confused, because the next second she was upon me, striking me across the face. I gasped at the burning sensation. Then her fist was in my stomach, and there was fire in my gut.

"How-" I gasped. "How…"

She chuckled by my ear, her hand still on me. "I specialize in humans… and pain. How does it feel? Being burned from the inside out? In fact, I think I'll take out one of your eyes. You're too pretty for someone so… _rotten_."

I couldn't move when she placed her hand over my left eye because the pain in my stomach was getting more intense with every passing second. It was all I could do to keep breathing in and out.

"Get ready for more of what you deserve, _you little thief_," she said, venom dripping on the last three words.

That's what got my blood boiling. I finally collected myself and grabbed her wrist that was causing the pain in my midsection and yanked it away. I stumbled away from her, clutching at my face and stomach, trying to ready myself for another attack.

"You're pitiful, you know that?" she said in a sickly sweet voice. "You're just like your mother, she didn't deserve to be in this world. She didn't deserve the power she wielded. But when she was dying before my hands, she used the last of her strength to prevent me from getting to you. As you can see now though, it was all in vain. You're still going to die. The day you were born, your fate was sealed."

I pulled my hand away from my face, my mouth turned up in a half-smile.

"You… wouldn't believe how often that very concept makes my life miserable," I responded, a bit out of breath. "I think I was born with the stars against me, it wouldn't surprise me if there are people out there with the same idea. But… if what you say is true…" I swallowed, getting ready to strike. "Sorry mom."

The floor we were standing on cracked open and the earth came up to swallow her, but she managed to escape its grasp at the last second. I frowned and tried to focus, shifting my feet a bit so I could stand on the earth properly to transmute.

"I see you still have your father's gift," she commented from the other side of the room as she dodged another attack.

My eyes widened and I paused in my barrage for a few seconds. "How do you know about that?" I asked as I blocked a dagger thrown my way with a wall of earth.

She grinned. "Let's just say I know your father _very _well."

Noises came from outside the house as we both stopped in our fight to listen.

"Those idiots can't handle anything," she muttered under her breath.

Suddenly she was smashing through the window in the room and the pain had finally gotten to me, causing me to collapse onto the ground.

"Katherine?" I heard come from the hallway. "Are you okay? There are other alchemists in the house."

Al was through the door and on the floor next to me in a matter of seconds.

He gasped. "What happened? You're hurt!"

"Sorry about the floor," I muttered under my breath.

"Somebody was attacking Alex too. Brother went to help her," Al explained. "What did they do to you?"

"Just alchemy… I'm fine. It'll heal," I said, struggling to stand up.

"Come on, let's let Granny have a look at you," he helped me to the living room, and much to my displeasure I needed his help all the way to the couch.

Mrs. Rockbell came over to the couch and put her hand under my chin, tilting my head this way and that to look at my face.

"There is a burn on your cheek in the shape of a handprint, almost as if you were slapped. Is there anything else injured?" she questioned.

I winced as I raised up my shirt a bit, exposing the burn across my stomach.

"I find it strange that your skin is burned but your shirt is fine," she pointed out.

"She had this strange kind of alchemy… It was almost as if I got the burn from the inside of my body." My brows creased in puzzlement as I thought about it.

"Well, just ice the burns and they should clear up," she said as went to the kitchen to get the ice.

The front door opened and Al met Ed and Alex at it, then began pacing around.

"First Katherine goes off and gets herself hurt-"

"I told you Al, I'm fine." I said flatly. I was still thinking about what the woman had said about my parents and I didn't feel like dealing with Al's dramatics.

"Still… I don't like seeing you hurt," he murmured, his voice filled with concern as he sat down beside me.

I looked over at the other two, noticing the glass shards and cuts all over Alex's body. …And the blood.

I immediately looked away and began taking deep breaths, trying desperately to think of something besides the liquid that made my stomach churn.

As I attempted to plan out my next session with Princess to keep my mind off the nighttime visitor, I saw something glint out of the corner of my eye. I automatically looked over at the source due to my special training. It was Ed's right arm. I began to study the auto mail. It was a good distraction and an amazing example of auto mail. A few men and women I worked with in the past had limbs of it, but it normally would get in the way of a heist and I had to think quickly of a way to get them out of the place without being spotted.

Cold ice in a bag being pressed into my hands brought me back to the present. I looked up at the person offering it to me and smiled, glad to have some relief for my pain.

"Thank you, Winry," I said sincerely. I pressed to my face and let out a happy sigh. I sat with Al on the couch, relishing in my small comfort, as Mrs. Rockbell finished working on Alex. Then Ed helped Alex up the stairs to the bedrooms.

"Um… Mrs. Rockbell?" I asked hesitantly. I continued speaking when she looked over at me. "I can give you the money to repair the room I destroyed. I'm really sorry about that by the way…"

"Thank you for that, but we'll be fine. Ed just came in to get his auto mail repaired a few days ago, so we got a nice bundle of money from that," she laughed.

"Oh, about that, are you the mechanic? That's the most amazing piece of auto mail I've seen in all my life!" I exclaimed.

"That would be me," Winry informed me from the other room. "I'm glad to see my work appreciated for once. Ed always tears it up."

"I could set you up with a bunch of clients if you're ever in need of one. I can think of about ten people who need their auto mail worked on," I offered.

"Well, it is a bit expensive," Winry murmured.

I laughed nervously. "Money's not much of a problem for them…" I yawned loudly. "I guess I should have had a few hours of sleep those three nights before I got here…"

"Come on, I'll take you to my room," Al said, standing up. He walked over to the stairs and I followed suit.

"But what about you?" I asked.

"I don't sleep," was all he said. I decided not to pry since everyone had been so generous to me today.

I yawned again as I sat down on the bed and pressed the ice against the wound on my stomach. The dull pain I felt from the wound had me thinking about what the woman said to me. So I jumped a bit when Al addressed me.

"Why didn't you call for help?" he demanded.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, still lost in my thoughts.

"Before, when you were attacked. Why didn't you call for us? We could have helped fight them," he said, a little bit of anger in his voice.

I scowled at him. "Why does it matter? I just didn't, okay? It didn't cross my mind."

"You're lying. You kept quiet on purpose! Why?"

"Stop it, okay? I don't want to talk about it, Al! It's none of your business! Quit being so nosy!" I said, my voice slowly rising and getting more dangerous.

His voice suddenly got soft, and it almost seemed like he had shrunken. "I'm sorry… I was just worried. …Good night, Katherine."

I opened my mouth, an apology hanging at my lips. But it never came out and he was out the door, and I was alone again.

I looked down, guilt bearing down on my shoulders. I promised myself that I would apologize first thing in the morning, considering how heavy my eyelids were. And so, I laid down and put off my worries until sunrise.

You know how royalty have servants that do their bidding? And how they do demeaning things like… calling them with a bell? Guess what I woke up to on that sunny morning.

"SHUT UP PRINCESS!" I shouted from the window on the second floor at the neighing horse. "I get it, you're hungry! Eat some grass like a normal horse, you worthless piece of meat!"

I stormed down the stairs, collected myself, and walked into the kitchen.

"Sorry about her. She's a picky horse, do you have any apples?" I asked sweetly to the room.

"Sure, catch," Winry said, picking up a few and tossing them at me. I stuffed two into my backpack for later and went outside, giving the whining thing only one of the fruits.

"Pig," I muttered under my breath and she ate the thing in one bite. I turned around to go into the house but she grabbed the flap of my backpack, ripping it off and causing all of my things to go flying across the yard. My eyes widened in horror and I hurried to pick up all the items I'd prefer to keep to myself, particularly the diamond that I had snatched the same time I got the gluttonous horse now stuffing itself with the other apples.

"I'll pretend I didn't see that," I heard a female voice say from behind me.

I scrambled to my feet and turned around, glaring at Alex.

"I still don't understand why you didn't turn me in the first time we met, but I'm not about to let that one act of kindness sway my opinion of you, state alchemist," I said to her.

"Seeing as how I couldn't care less about your opinion, I'm not too concerned," she replied, glancing at my horse. "Do you keep all your possessions in such a bad state?"

I looked Princess up and down with nothing really popping out at me as abuse.

"I don't see what's wrong with her," I countered.

"You mean besides the fact that she used to be white?" (A/N 1) I scowled at the comment, refusing to acknowledge that she had a point.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"We're going to Central," she said simply.

My eyes widened and I took a step closer to Princess, preparing to make my escape.

"Relax, would you? I'm not turning you in, I just need to check on something," she rolled her eyes at me.

"Why didn't you anyway? You had a perfect opportunity. I was sleep deprived with a new horse," I questioned.

"A person with a strong influence on my decision making happened to sway me over to letting you go. That's why you're still standing free," she explained.

I frowned, thinking it over as Ed and Al walked out the house with bags in their hands.

"Ready to go?" Ed asked.

"Yep, we're both ready," Alex responded, and began walking down the path with them

"Hey, hey! Who said I was going? I don't remember making the decision!" I yelled after her.

"Apparently your horse did," she called back, pointing at the horse trailing right behind her.

"Traitor," I muttered, and picked up the last of my things, catching up with the group.

"Thank you for everything!" I yelled back at the Rockbell house.

"Sure, come back anytime!" Winry replied. "And Ed, don't break your auto mail again! I worked hard on it."

"Bye Winry!" he yelled back, ignoring her remark on his arm.

Last night's adventure came back to me as I got lost in my thoughts again. Then I remembered all that I had said to Al. I glanced over meekly at him, wondering if he was still upset over that and annoyed that I couldn't read his face.

"So, um, did anybody figure out why those alchemists attacked us?" I asked aloud.

"Well seeing as how I'm a target for most criminals, it wasn't hard to put two and two together," Alex answered.

I scowled at her back. "Well that doesn't explain why I was attacked," I argued.

She shrugged. "You were with me, that's reason enough. They probably weren't sure which room I was in."

'Yeah, that's why she knew my mother,' I thought wryly to myself. 'Is she always this full of herself?'

After a few more hours of walking and me trying to figure out why I was attacked and a good apology for Al, we stopped for a break by a river.

Alex began to wash the dirt and mud off of Princess and I glared at the two of them as my horse neighed happily.

"What's her name?" Alex called over at me.

I pretended that I didn't hear her as I pulled a deck of cards out of my pack.

"Princess," Al answered for me.

She smiled a bit. "It's befitting."

"I'm going swimming, anybody else want to cool off?" she asked us.

I rolled my eyes and shuffled my deck. "No thanks, I don't care much for getting wet."

"Sorry, I can't get in the water, Alex. My blood seal might wash off," Al explained.

"Ed?" she looked at the state alchemist expectantly.

"Uh… No thanks," he said nervously.

"What's wrong, can't swim?" she teased.

I blocked out their conversation, not particularly caring about why Ed refused to go in the water.

I played solitaire, thinking back about all the times that I took money from poker sharks in the past. I forgot about where I was and began humming, completely at ease with the sun shining down on me and the sound of the water in the river trickling along its way to the ocean.

I finally came back to earth, and looked around me, calling Al over to me when I saw he wasn't doing anything.

"Do you know how to play poker?" I asked.

"No," he responded. "Will you teach me?"

"Sure," I said, smiling. Then my smile dropped. "Oh… and Al? I'm… sorry about last night. I just can't tell you everything. Not yet. I don't even understand most of it myself."

"It's okay Katherine, I understand. If you ever want to talk, I'm here," he told me seriously.

I smiled again, happy that I had run into him and Ed in the woods. I began to explain the rules to him, going into more depth when he didn't understand something.

"Oh, and one more thing," I interrupted, before we started a real game. I grinned widely and winked. "Don't feel bad when you lose, because you have no chance of winning."

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><p>Amaya:<p>

(1)- Just wanted to share with you guys that this conversation between Katherine and Alex is one of my favorites! XD Just the bickering back and forth amuses me, especially while I'm writing it. But that one line is just SO Alex (and Hazuki, she is also very sarcastic ;) ), and I can just see Katherine giving her a smoldering glare! What do you guys think?

Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter! :D Review please! We love constructive feedback! XD


	7. Back to Central

Amaya: We decided to go ahead and put up chapter seven since we won't be able to even get on fanfiction in a few short weeks, we'll be so busy. Anyway, this is another one of Hazuki's chapter, so I hope you enjoy it. :)

Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

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><p>Chapter Seven: Back to Central<p>

Cool, clean water surrounded my body as I swam underneath the surface of the river. It felt good to be able to feel like I was gaining power from the river, even though it was my alchemy rings getting all of the attention. My oxygen supply began to run short, so I kicked off of the riverbed and splashed out of the river, shaking my head as I did so. Air began to refill my lungs when I inhaled, forcing the sensation of "drowning" to disappear. I drifted over to a rock where Ed sat, holding onto it so I wouldn't be pulled downstream.

"Hello, Ed," I greeted.

He looked down at me. "Enjoying your water escapade?"

I smiled. "Of course. But not as much as I'll enjoy doing this!" I scooped water into my hand and playfully splashed him.

"ALEX!" he shouted, swiping a hand at me.

I dove back underwater, floating to the rough center of the river. I allowed my eyes to pop out over the wavy surface, staring at Ed innocently.

"You got my jacket wet!" he complained.

I swam close enough to him so that I could stand in the water. "It'll dry!"

He crossed his arms and gave me a sort of defiant-kid look. I knew better than to give in, but I still walked over, gripping onto the rock. Ed's golden-brown eyes watched me, then he leaned forward slightly. His face was only about three inches away from mine, hovering close enough so that I could feel his steady breathing. He placed his human hand on my arm before a strong force pushed me back into the water.

I had no time to take a deep breath or anything. Air bubbles floated to the surface until my body destroyed them. Water was coughed out of my lungs as I spoke. "Edward Elric! That was not fair!"

"It was in my book."

I rolled my eyes and hauled myself out of the cool, refreshing liquid. The clothes that I had laid out to change into were safe and dry on the riverbank. I grabbed them, told Ed that I was going to change, and found a secluded place to switch outfits. The wet tank top and shorts fell to the ground, leaving me in a warmer pair of black pants, a purple tank top, and a short-sleeved white jacket with some black lines streaking across it in certain places. I forgot my shoes back at the river, so I walked barefooted to my traveling companions. My feet slid into my socks and black shoes, enjoying the cushioned luxury.

Princess whinnied, beckoning me over. I smiled and ran my fingers through her now-groomed mane. She stood firmly, moving only her head to enjoy my combing even more. Finally, after several minutes of pampering, I sat down at the base of a tree, appreciating the shade it offered. I leaned my head against it, closing my eyes and listening to the birds singing, the water gently churning, and…Katherine and Al playing poker? I ignored the two, drowning out their voices to allow myself to be enveloped in nature.

Princess began to whine. I heard her hooves clanking against the ground as she walked in front of me towards the river. She neighed again, pacing around.

"PRINCESS, WHAT ON EARTH COULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT NOW?" Katherine shouted. There were a few moments of silence before I heard a sort of stamping sound. "GET IT YOURSELF! IT'S RIGHT _THERE_!" Another few seconds passed before I heard a sigh of annoyance and rage. "FINE! Geez, I'll get the freakin' apple!"

I smirked and cracked open my right eye to see Katherine stretching up to get the red hanging fruit. The tree was right by the river, part of its roots running deep into the moistened earth. And she was _very_ close to the edge. Why not? It would be a bit of fun. I slowly rose from my spot and stalked over to her, standing directly behind her. Apparently she was too busy feeding her horse, because she didn't even notice that I was there. With a devious smirk and a final look around at Ed and Al, I gathered some strength and shoved Katherine into the river.

It took her a couple of seconds to come up to the surface, but when she did, she was cursing like a sailor. "WHAT IN THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? MY CLOTHES ARE COMPLETELY SOAKED, DAMMIT!"

I closed my eyes and giggled. "Sorry," I stated with amusement. "Couldn't resist."

"SERIOUSLY?" she shouted. Her eyes fell on her white steed. "YOU!" she accused. "YOU AND SHE PLANNED THIS TOGETHER! IT WAS AN EVIL PLOT AGAINST ME!"

"_Right_," I said. "Princess and I have been waiting to implement this plan since we created it five minutes ago."

Katherine huffed and crossed her arms, about to say something when Ed interrupted.

"Come on, guys," he said. "Time to go."

When we arrived just outside of Central, Katherine literally had to be dragged into the city's limits. We managed to convince her to eat in a decent restaurant, though she protested the whole way, saying that Princess would cause trouble where she was tied up. As soon as we walked in, Katherine mentioned that she had to go to the bathroom and ran off.

"Is it a good idea to be with her here?" I asked. "She draws a nice bit of attention."

Metal slid against metal as Al's fists clenched. "It doesn't matter. She's with us now and that's what's important."

My expression fell. Was Al just…defending her? "I didn't mean it like that. I mean, she's a wanted criminal. You two got me out of trouble with Mustang, but I don't think that we can do it a second time. Three alchemists and a registered criminal traveling together won't settle too well with the military."

"That's beside the point. Look at it if she were your friend!" Al said.

I folded one hand into my other on top of the table. "Look, Al, I'm not the friend maker of this group. If you haven't noticed, I'm in my own world most of the time." I closed my eyes. "She and I aren't close enough to be considered 'friends'."

I didn't meet Al's gaze, but I could see his hands loosen.

Finally, Katherine returned about ten minutes after she had left.

"What'd ya do? Fall in?" I questioned.

"Oh, ha, ha," she said. "No, I got a deck of cards." She handed them to Al.

"In the bathroom."

"Sure."

"How hygienic." I rolled my eyes.

She looked at the table and her eyes widened "Holy crap! There's a vase of Forget Me Nots on the table and I just now noticed?" Katherine shouted.

"You like Forget Me Nots?" Al asked.

"They're my favorite flowers in the whole wide world!" Katherine excitedly exclaimed.

I began to tune out the rest of Al and Katherine's conversation when the food came. "_Alex, if you don't catch this…this _kid,_ then I'll kick you off of the force for an incomplete assignment!"_ I was halfway through my plate of pasta before Ed pointed out that I was spacing out about Colonel Mustang again. Katherine shot me a funny look, one that almost made me feel crazy.

"So, how long are we staying, Ed?" I asked.

"Two days. There's something I need to check out as well," he answered, keeping his eyes glued to the table. "Al, what do you plan on doing?"

"Oh, I have to go get something, Brother," he answered.

"Alex?"

"I can't tag along with you, Ed. I have to make sure that something's in order."

Ed's face fell a bit. "Katherine?"

"I have nothing better to do," she answered.

"Don't expect me to bail you out if you get caught," I warned.

"Don't worry. No one can catch me," she replied arrogantly, standing up and leaving the restaurant.

"Meet back here in half an hour. And if you two don't come back, I'm coming after you." Ed watched us expectantly.

"It's not like we're going to the bad side of town, Ed," I joked, turning on my heels and walking down the sidewalk.

"Be careful, Alex!"

I tossed my hand in the air to let them know that I heard them and set off into the afternoon. It was a very hot day. Man, why, oh, _why_ couldn't Ed and Al decide to eat at a restaurant closer to my mom's flower shop? I took the long way around, passing by random shops and stores of interest, though I pressed on without a second glance.

Lady in the Flower Petals was in view, welcoming me with its familiar, floral scent. I opened the door and entered, looking at the person at the cash register.

"Forget Me Nots? Only half a dozen?" my mother asked.

"Al?" I questioned. "What are you doing here?"

The boy in the suit of armor turned to face me. "Alex? What are you doing here?"

"This is my mother's shop. What are you doing here?"

"Uhm…w-well…"

"He's buying flowers!" My mother sighed like it was the cutest thing on the planet.

"For who?"

"For…uh…" Al rubbed the back of his head. He sighed. "Katie."

"Katie? Who's that?" I cocked my head to the side.

"Katherine," he corrected.

"Ah. Hey, Mom, how big of a dent would it put in your profits to place these—" I gestured towards the blue flowers— "on the house?"

"Oh, please, Alexandra. Your friends are always welcome to my flowers," my mother commented cheerily. "Please, take them, Al."

"Thank you, ma'am," he replied.

"Oh, hey…Al?"

"Yeah, Alex?" He looked back at me.

"I'm sorry about what I said at the restaurant," I whispered.

I could feel a smile that would have appeared on his face had it have been anatomically possible. "I apologize, too."

My face brightened up. "Alright, alright, enough cutesy stuff for one day. Let's go, Romeo."

"Thank you again, Ms. Halligan!" Al called to my mom.

"No problem, dear. You're welcome any time!" she said happily.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mom, 'kay?"

"Of course, Alexandra," she answered.

Al held the door open for me as we reentered the sun's harsh lighting. He clasped the flowers gently in his giant hands, watching them as if they were his lifelines. "Do you think she'll like them?"

"I'm sure she will. But I don't know if it's her favorite flower."

"She said it was," Al mentioned.

"Oh. Well, in that case, I'm sure she'll love them."

Al chuckled, his voice echoing in his armor. "Thanks for the reassurance, Alex."

"Anytime," I answered.

Just as it was about to be thirty-one minutes since we left the restaurant, we arrived back at its doorstep. Ed sighed and rolled his eyes, sliding his pocket watch back into the pouch of his pants. "I was about to tear the city apart to find you two." He glanced at the flowers with a questioning expression.

"Hey, Katie?" Al said shyly.

Katherine's eyes fell on the junior Elric. "Yes?"

He held out the flowers. "Thanks for the cards."

I could almost quite literally see the shining symbol in Katherine's eyes as she accepted the flowers. She twirled them in her fingers like a little girl in the middle of a meadow. "Thanks, Al."

"Did you two play nice?" I shifted my gaze between Ed and Katherine.

"We're both in one piece," Katherine responded.

"I suppose that's a reasonable answer," I commented, rolling my eyes.

"Of course it is," Katherine said with a bite in her voice.

"Alex's mom is very nice," Al muttered.

My widened eyes locked on Al.

"Mom? Your mom lives here?" Ed asked.

I turned away from the three faces that waited both patiently and impatiently for my answer. "Yes."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"It's not like it would help me in catching a mass murderer or something. It's only ammunition against me," I whispered.

An auto mail hand was placed on my shoulder. "Are you alright, Alex?" Ed asked.

"I'm okay. Just…just don't ask me about it anymore."

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><p>Amaya: Review, review, review! :D Unless you plan on flaming us... then I'd really just prefer it if you hit the back button instead. Thanks! ^_^<p> 


	8. Reunions and Secrets

Amaya: Hello, hello, hello! :D Personally, this was one of my favorite chapters to write. It shows a loooot more of Katherine's character and her past so, I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

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><p>Chapter 8: Reunions and Secrets<p>

"Hey, look who decided to show her face around here!" John shouted from behind the bar. He grinned at me as other people called out greetings. "Long time, no see Kat. I hear the military's been on your ass more lately. Be careful, they're closer than you think," he warned me, winking behind his dark locks of hair that hung just below his forehead.

"Yeah, no kidding," I responded, chuckling to myself at the irony in his words. "Listen, have you heard if Von is around?" I asked as I sat down on a stool. "I could use some cash fast."

"What have ya got this time?" he questioned. He raised one of his eyebrows, and I braced myself for the mocking words I knew were sure to follow. "Another priceless artifact?"

"Come on! That was ONE time!" I responded, trying to defend my reputation. "The guy had already pissed me off by cutting down my favorite apple orchard, AND he had stolen the painting in the first place. How is it _my _fault that his-"

"KATHEWINE!" another voice shouted from across the room, interrupting my rant.

I turned around, gasping. "Junior! Look at you! You've grown so much!" I picked up the little boy that looked just like his father with the long, dark, scraggly hair and sat the four-year old in my lap. "You were just a little baby the last time I saw you! Now you're a big boy!"

He smiled up at me and puffed out his chest at the big boy part. "I help Daddy now. I wanna be big and stwong like him!"

I laughed as I ruffled his hair. "Good, I'm so proud of you!" I continued talking to Junior as John went off into a back room in the bar. A few minutes later he came back with Von.

Von nodded curtly at me. "Miss Katherine, a pleasure to see you again."

"Hello," I greeted in a monotone voice. He used to be an employer of mine when I first started my "career" in Central. The work was fine until he wanted me to kill, and then I quit and left on bad terms with him. I haven't been back since then, but I remember he was very fair when it came to trades. I pulled out the diamond and handed it to him. "Here."

He examined it quietly, glancing up at me once as I played with Junior. Finally he put the rock down and stared at me coolly.

"It's in great condition. However, I find it odd that it seems to be identical to a bunch that came on a horseless cart about a month ago. Do you think you could explain that to me?" He said, never blinking his gray eyes.

I shrugged. "Finders keepers. Is it my fault that my hands are a little sticky when I come across unconscious thieves with a load of gems in the back of a cart?"

"I suppose not," he murmured as he went to the other room and came back with the appropriate amount of money. "It's too bad that the horse was stolen too, though."

I took the money from him and looked him in the eyes. "Some thieves have a sore spot for white steeds."

"White…" he finally looked away after having a stare down with me for a few seconds, then allowed himself a small smile. "You always did have a soft spot for living things. Be careful Katherine. Some may use that weakness against you..." Then he was out of the room again and hopefully for the rest of my life.

I looked at the clock and kicked myself mentally for wasting seven minutes here. I was supposed to be in the bathroom at a restaurant.

"I have to go John, it was good seeing you again," I said, standing up and putting Junior on the floor. I stuffed the money into my bag.

"Yeah. I'd tell you to drop by more often, but it might be the death of you," he teased. I stuck my tongue out at him and looked down at Junior.

"Bye Junior, be good, okay?"

The boy was looking down at the floor. I had to bend down a bit to hear his soft voice. "I miss you Kathewine…"

"I miss you too Junior, all the time. But you have to be a big boy and hold down the fort while I'm gone, okay? And make sure your dad stays away from the wine this Christmas." I glared at John pointedly. Then I hugged Junior and began to leave the bar. "Oh, one more thing. Give my respects to Ema this Saturday, will you?"

John blinked in surprise. "You remembered?"

"I'll try to give her some lilies on my way out of town if the military hasn't chopped my head off yet," I joked, mimicking a knife going across my throat with a cross eyed look for Junior's amusement. "See ya!"

I hurried back to the restaurant, trying to avoid looking even slightly suspicious. A small shop caught my eye and I dropped in for a few seconds before continuing on my way. Finally I made it to the back door of the restaurant and scrambled through the kitchen, thanking the friend of mine who worked there for the help.

"What'd ya do? Fall in?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh ha ha," I replied, rolling my eyes. "No. I got a deck of cards." I slid them across the table to Al as Alex continued questioning my actions.

"In the bathroom?"

"Sure."

"How hygienic," she responded, rolling her eyes as well.

I decided to ignore her comments for now, considering I had just made an illegal trade a few minutes ago and didn't feel like pushing my luck further. I smiled at Al looking through the deck of cards I had gotten him at the small shop. As I wondered if that woman found the big bill I used to pay for it suspicious, my gaze settled on the vase in the middle of the table. But more importantly… the flowers.

"Holy crap! There's a vase of Forget Me Nots on the table and I just now noticed?" I shouted, beating myself up mentally for being so unobservant. I stared at the beautiful flowers, thinking back to all the wonderful memories they were involved in. I barely heard Al ask if I like those kinds of flowers.

"They're my favorite flowers in the whole wide world!" I exclaimed, sounding like a child. I began chattering nonstop about flowers and then my horse and pretty much anything else that crossed my mind to anybody who would listen. Which turned out to be Al. Thank goodness his patience stretched to the ends of the earth, otherwise I would've been kicked out by all three of them.

"Katherine?" Ed asked. It took me a second to back track and figure out what they had been talking about a few seconds ago since I had been daydreaming again.

"I have nothing better to do," I responded. Which was a complete lie, considering all the other people in the city I would love to visit after many years but couldn't since I had state alchemists traveling with me.

"Don't expect me to bail you out with you get caught," Alex warned.

"Don't worry, no one can catch me," I stated smugly. Which was completely true. I had never been caught once on any one of my "adventures".

I surveyed the street we'd be walking on as Alex and Ed talked about meeting up later. Finally Alex and Al took off on their own and I followed Ed as we headed to an unknown destination.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To the library, there's something I need to look up. And I need to talk to you about something," he responded.

My ears perked up at the "talk" he wanted to have with me. My senses were suddenly heightened and adrenaline was running through my body. Now would be the time to run. He wanted information from me and something told me I wouldn't want to give it to him. Would he finally turn me in and have me questioned? Should I leave now? I had no reason to even stay with this group. Why was I with them anyway? I couldn't remember the last time I'd even been with a person for longer than two days. I racked my brain, trying to figure out what information he wanted from me.

He glanced my way, probably checking to see what effect his statement had on me. After a few minutes he spoke. "You thinking about running away?"

I blinked, considering how to answer. Finally I nodded. He looked back in front of him when he spoke again.

"I wouldn't stop you if you did, you know. I don't want you to think you're a prisoner with us," he reassured me.

I didn't care about that right now. What concerned me was what he wanted to know. Despite his bouts of immaturity, Ed was really smart. I'd have to focus if I want to slip something by him without him noticing. The last time I had to pull that off was when I worked with Von, years ago.

"First tell me what you want me to tell you," I started cautiously.

"I want to know where you discovered how to use alchemy without-" I was gone, I was so gone. But I guess he was expecting it because he caught my arm with his right one, gripping it tightly.

We shouted at each other simultaneously:

"Wait! Let me ask the question first!"

"What happened to letting me go if I ran? Hypocrite!"

It was a stare down between the two of us. I was currently debating whether it would be easier to try to get out of his grip or crushing his auto mail for my freedom. Despite the second option being easier it really would break my heart to see such a fine specimen smashed to smithereens.

"I won't tell you Ed. No one but me knows…" And that crazy woman I met last night. "I just don't like reliving that night. I… I really, really don't. Your own curiosity is not a good enough reason for me."

"Alright, I understand," he said, releasing my arm. "But could you at least tell me how it works?"

I frowned, not expecting him to be this curious. But I admired his perseverance. "I have…" I paused, grasping for the correct terminology. "Um… you know those signs that Al draws to perform alchemy?"

"Transmutation circles?" Ed asked, confusion settling over his face for a second then disappearing.

I nodded. "I have them on the bottom of my feet… Basically I can transmute whatever I touch with them." I looked away from his face when I saw the curious look in his eye. "Can we please stop with the questions? That's really all I know."

"I see," he murmured. We finally reached the library after a few more awkward minutes.

"You can read if you want while I look for something," he called over to me as he ran to the west wing of the library.

I looked around the giant building and gulped, overwhelmed by the sheer number of the cursed things. That's right, laugh it up. I can't read. I don't know my alphabet and couldn't tell you how to spell Central if you asked. So a library is pretty much a living hell for me. I hate books more than getting wet. It took all my willpower not to just run right out of there that very second.

I sighed and sat myself down at a table, grabbing a random book and pretending to read through it. The reason why I was pretending? How suspicious is a person who stands in a library for an hour and doesn't read? Pretty suspicious to me. So when Ed finally got back I was relieved, until he asked another question. Damn his curiosity.

"You speak Ishbalan?" I froze, halfway through flipping a page. I closed the book slowly, considering my answer.

"Yes," Ok, not a total lie. I actually do speak the language. I just can't _read _it. So wait… I actually did answer his question truthfully. Alright!

"What's the book about?" I scowled as I put the book back on the shelf. Did he seriously have to know everything?

"What's it to you? Why does everything I do concern you? What were _you_ reading? Get off my back!" Overkill, yeah I know. Maybe he'd shut up on the walk back though.

I turned around to find his eyes wide and half holding a book out in front of him, almost as if he was trying to defend himself. I rolled my eyes and left the library, with him trailing behind.

We met the other two back in front of the restaurant, Ed tapping his foot in impatience about them _almost being a minute late. _The horror of it all. I was dragged out of my thoughts again by Al.

"Hey Katie?" Al said shyly. The nickname being used by him really caught me off guard. The last time someone had called me that name was when I had been traveling down south with a group of boys my age for a few weeks. I hadn't realized that Al and I were in the nick name friend phase. Then again, I did call him Al. Did I even know his first name? Oh right, I'm supposed to respond.

"Yes?"

"Thanks for the cards," he offered me a bouquet of… OH MY GOD! WERE THOSE FORGET ME NOTS? I could feel my eyes grow to the size of tires as I stared at the flowers.

"THANKS AL!" I exclaimed, taking them and trying my best not to squeal with joy.

"Did you two play nice?" Alex asked.

"We're both in one piece," I responded curtly. What business was it of hers?

"I suppose that's a reasonable answer," she commented, rolling her eyes.

"Of course it is," I snapped.

"Alex's mom is very nice," Al muttered from beside me.

I saw Alex's eyes grow as large as mine had a few minutes ago.

"Mom? Your mom lives here?" Ed asked, nosy as ever. It must run in the family.

Alex turned her back on us before she replied. I didn't particularly care about her mother, she didn't have to be such a drama queen about it, yeesh.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Ed demanded.

"It's not like it would help me in catching a mass murderer or something. It's only ammunition against me," she whispered. I rolled my eyes. Enough already.

Ed placed his right hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright, Alex?"

"I'm okay. Just…just don't ask me about it anymore." I blinked. I was having another case of de-ja-vu. I'm pretty sure I said something similar to that about half an hour ago to Ed. Did that make me a drama queen?

I thought about it for a second, then sighed. Yeah, I was a total drama queen.

We stayed the night near the forest just outside the city, my horse preferring Alex to me once again. Not that I minded much. It was fun teaching Al new games with his deck of cards. He still seemed determined to beat me, poor guy. Too bad my pride in games wouldn't allow me to let him win.

As everyone was getting ready for bed, I heard screaming coming from Central. Everyone was on his or her feet in a second. There was smoke rising from the middle of the city. Alex gasped a few feet away from me.

"Mother!" she began running towards Central.

"Wait!" I exclaimed, but she ignored me. "Princess!" I called to my horse as I ran to her. "Listen, I know you hate me. But I need your help for tonight, so let me get on!" I hopped onto her back and was surprised to find she didn't resist. In fact she started running as soon as I was on.

"Alex!" I sped ahead of Al and Ed running after her. "Alex get on!" I pulled Princess to a stop as Alex jumped on behind me.

"Why are you helping me?" she asked from behind me as I urged Princess forward again.

"Don't get me wrong, state alchemist. I don't like you. But believe it or not I have people in that city that I care for as well." John and Junior's faces floated in my mind's eye, along with a girl about my age, Terra. "So for one night, let's help each other."

"Deal."

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><p>Amaya: Sooooo? What did you think? Let us know! :D We'll update again soon!<p> 


	9. Fire Burns

Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist

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><p>Chapter Nine: Fire Burns<p>

Cries of panic and sadness erupted from the heart of the city. I was immediately on my feet, tension and the sense of true fear filling my entire being. "Mother!" My feet carried me towards Central, thriving on pure adrenaline to check on my mother. Al and Ed called out to me, trying to get me to wait for them, but my legs wouldn't listen. There was too much at stake to stop.

"Alex!" Katherine called from behind me. "Alex, get on!" She had somehow temporarily tamed Princess, riding the white horse and halting her.

I hoisted myself up on the back of the self-centered steed, attempting to not hold onto Katherine for support. "Why are you helping me?"

"Don't get me wrong, State Alchemist," she began. "I don't like you. But believe it or not, I have people in that city that I care for as well. So, for one night, let's help each other."

"Deal," I responded to the first bit of logic I had ever heard come from her. My mom's face was continually flashing in my mind, taunting me into becoming more worried. Ed and Al were trying to keep up, but Princess left them in the dust.

Townspeople dashed out of our way, not wanting to get trampled by two girls and a horse. My heart began to sink as I didn't recognize any faces in the crowds. The smoke that I had seen from before was billowing high into the sky. Bright red and orange flames danced across the ground, already devouring three buildings in its destruction. The smell of scorching flowers reached my nostrils, burning my nose with its sickening scent. I jumped off of Princess, landing with wobbly legs in front of a flaming flower shop sign.

"Oh, no," a woman said. "Eloise…do you know if she was inside?"

"She was watering the flowers for the evening," a man replied. "She only had a few more minutes of work before she would've headed home for the evening."

"What about her daughter? Was she there?" the woman asked.

"Shh." The man lowered his voice. "She's right there."

"Alex!" a distant voice called.

My mind had left my body. My mother…my mother was…my mother couldn't be…

"Alex!" the person called again. I paid no attention to anyone coming towards me. My heart was broken into too many pieces to be mended. My sister, my father…then my mother. Why? Why me? My mind was damaged beyond repair. All of my family, all that I had to fight for, was gone. I fell to my knees, ignoring the voice that lingered above me. Warm liquid flowed from my eyes, lining my cheeks and falling to the ground.

"Alex…" the same voice said, showing sympathy in his golden-brown eyes. Ed watched me; any hint of emotion other than sadness completely erased. I took a couple of seconds to watch him before burying my face in his left shoulder, enjoying its human warmth. He wrapped his arms around me and held me, letting me cry my heart and soul out onto his jacket. He leaned his cheek on top of my head, comforting me with silent and understood words.

"Alex," a female said softly.

I pulled my face away from Ed's shoulder to see whoever it was that had addressed me. Katherine stood beside Al, staring down at me with…sympathy?

"I never had a mother…but…I'm sorry for your loss," she whispered.

I felt Ed tense up ever-so-slightly at the word "mother". I disregarded it and dug my face back into his shoulder. Ed's hand tousled the ends of my hair, calming me just enough so that I could look around. Flower petals of every shape and size were scattered across the ground, except for a whole one: a white rose. Some of its petals were slightly scorched, but not burned completely. After staring at it for several seconds, Al retrieved it for me, sliding it off into the palm of my hand. I held the flower close to my heart, close to the one thing that had fallen into an eternal state of disrepair.

_My worst fear has come true_, I realized. _I never got to tell her goodbye…_

Dreams of denial and agonizingly painful memories filled my mind that night. Ed, Al, and Katherine had finally left me to myself, left me to cry myself to sleep and dream of horrors that existed only in my mind. My more recent nightmare of the hour had brought a concerned Ed into my room.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sitting beside me on the edge of my bed.

I turned away from him and curled into a ball. "I'm fine, Ed. Just another nightmare."

He slid his fingers over my forehead, moving misplaced strands of hair. "You aren't fine. I heard you whimpering in your sleep. You can't fool me, no matter how late it is."

My hand tightened around my pillow. "I wasn't trying to fool you, Ed. I wouldn't be able to, anyway. I'm not in the right mindset."

"Alex, give it some time," Ed advised, placing his hand on my arm. "Just take it easy."

I pulled the blankets further up over my body, inviting sleep to pay me a nice visit. Ed never left my side; I supposed he was waiting for me to fall back asleep, but I was too tired to care.

**FIRE IN CENTRAL KILLS FIVE CIVILIANS AND A STATE ALCHEMIST**

The headlines the next morning reassured me of what I had hoped to be a dream. I convinced Ed and Al to leave me alone for a little while, so that I had time to think and clear my head. Actually, I wanted to examine the remains of my mother's flower shop. The weight of pain was being carried on my shoulders, but even though I had an infinite amount of knives sticking into my heart, I had to tell her goodbye. I didn't care if I was too late. I wouldn't rest soundly until I had done it.

Singed wood and broken glass covered the ground. Hardly any of the shop's frame was still standing, but I was able to figure out where everything used to stand. I clasped my hand around my nose and stepped over fallen debris, entering the shop. I carefully navigated through the remnants of the former boutique, working to get to the rough vicinity of the counter. I could still see my mother, smiling at me, placing a white rose in my hair.

"Hey, Mom," I whispered, closing my eyes. "I'm sorry that I didn't get the chance to properly say goodbye. But now I am. So, it's with a heavy heart that…I say goodbye, Mother."

It was when I opened my eyes that I noticed a folded piece of paper on the ground. The paper was clean, clear from any ash or soot. I picked it up, unraveling it to read. Maybe it was something that my mother had left me?

_Alexandra,_

_If you had stopped visiting this one location on your every visit to Central, your mother's funeral wouldn't be in a few days. A state alchemist would be a treasure to stumble across, but they always put up a better fight when their defenses are down, don't you think? You might want to watch your back from now on. You never know when that Fullmetal shrimp and his tin can of a brother will "mysteriously" disappear. You couldn't even solve your own sister's murder, so why should I expect you to solve theirs, should they go missing? Whenever you finish being the "big alchemist on campus", you should get around to doing something with your life, like opening a burning flower shop._

_D.H._

I angrily crumpled the note and stuffed it into my pocket. Whoever this person was knew how to tick me off. If Ed saw the note, he'd probably do one of two things. One, he would freak out about being called a shrimp. Or two, he would track this person down. Nevertheless, they knew how to push my buttons. I hoped that D.H. would come to find me, come so frighteningly close that I could run a lightning bolt across their face and scar it, allowing me to pick them out in a crowd.

"We're ready to leave whenever you are," Ed's voice reached me from outside.

"Okay," I responded quietly, stealing one last glance around my mother's former flower shop before retracing my steps outside to my three traveling companions and horse. I didn't meet any of their gazes, wanting to keep to myself as much as possible. Sympathy today would only make matters worse. I stayed slightly behind the group, following their shadows as they were them.

"Excuse me," an old woman to my right began. "Are you Miss Alexandra Halligan?"

Ed inspected the woman, watching her as I spoke. "Yes."

"I am sorry to hear of your mother's passing. Eloise was a very bright young woman," the elder mentioned. "She passed that on to you, child." She pursed her lips, thinking of what to say next. "I hope that you uncover the mystery behind this tragedy. I know that you have it in you."

"Thank you for your condolences," I answered, nodding to her and starting to walk off. My eyes touched the edge of Ed's vision as he turned back around, leading the group through Central. So many hushed voices echoed in my ears, some apologizing for my loss, others pointing out that I was leaving the city before her burial. No matter what I tried to do to drown them out, the frequency ricocheting off of my eardrums and into the deepest parts of my mind.

From what I could discern from Ed and Katherine's conversation, they both needed to head to a small town called Eisensturm. Whatever their reasons were, I had no objections to a detour far, far away from Central. Finally, we rested by the river from our previous travel, shading ourselves away from the hot sun. I slid my shoes off and rolled my pants up to my knees, dipping my legs in the cold river. Like a child, I moved my feet in the water, occasionally splashing myself in the process. A small smile crept up on my face. This was, somehow, a stress reliever for me. Whenever I was too focused or distracted, I would come to a river and sit, mainly to clear my mind and direct my attention on the cool liquid.

"Hey, Alex," Al greeted, staying away from the water.

"Hi, Al."

"Here," he said, handing me an apple.

I gave him a small grin and accepted the fruit. "Thank you."

"I thought you might be—"

"PRINCESS! ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?" Katherine interrupted, stalking over to her horse. She placed her hands on her hips and tapped her foot obnoxiously, grasping the horse's attention. "YOU ATE MY LAST APPLE!"

The horse whinnied in protest, tossing her snout up at the tree.

Katherine's head shot up and she gasped dramatically. "THE LAST APPLE! YOU DIDN'T EAT IT AFTER ALL!"

Princess huffed, tossing some of her mane in her eyes as she did so. The white horse clopped over to a more shaded area and glared at Katherine from afar. Katherine stood on her tiptoes and grabbed the apple, taking a gigantic bite out of it. A sour look crossed her face as she spit out the mouthful of fruit. "PRINCESS!" she yelled. "HOW DID YOU PUT A WORM IN THERE?"

I chuckled lightly and stood, biting off a small bit of apple. I don't know if it was the sound that's made when someone takes a bite set her off or if she just saw, but Katherine turned and saw my fruit.

"Where did you get that apple?" she asked sharply.

"A stork carried it to me."

Katherine rushed over and jabbed me in my side, somehow causing me to release my apple. She stole it and quickly gobbled it up, content with her filled stomach.

"Thanks. It's not like I was going to eat that or anything," I muttered. I sighed, searching through my bag to find my smaller sized soccer ball. Once I found the black and white sphere, I asked Ed if he'd mind kicking it around with me.

"If it helps you, then I'm alright with it," Ed replied.

"Just to warn you, I'm a decent soccer player."

"Hn, getting overconfident, are we?" he challenged.

"You said so yourself: if it helps me. So stop getting short with me and go long," I said.

"Who're you calling 'short'?"

"Ed, just get down there!" I threw the ball high in the air a few feet in front of me. I got a running start and jumped, flipping in the air to kick it with the inside of my right foot. It sailed through the air, colliding with a tree about three feet to Ed's left. The elder Elric smirked before following exactly what I had done, kicking the ball with his right foot. It didn't go nearly as fast as mine did, but I didn't have to walk far to retrieve it. _Be strong_, I told myself. _You've already cried for Dana. And Dad. And all of the necessary tears have been shed for Mom, too. And though it's not a sign of weakness to show emotion, it is a target of those who would take advantage of it._ Sure, I can still be sad. It didn't bother me to remain sad, but as long as I showed some form of true happiness when it came around, I could manage. I could live with being haunted every night when I closed my eyes. I could bear the pain of an infinite amount of knives piercing my chest. But what I couldn't stand was losing everything. I thought everything was my sister and my parents. But I was wrong. Everything was Ed and Al, Roy and Hawkeye, Princess and…maybe Katherine. Only as a last resort. Only if, for some odd reason, the others died or disappeared. But, seeing Ed, and Al, even, the thought of something happening to them drifted from my mind. They could take care of themselves. They had to.

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><p>~Review~<p> 


	10. A Question of Morals

Amaya: I'd like to thank all of our readers who have stuck with us up until now, our tenth chapter! :D Woo! Hazuki and I really appreciate the support. ^_^ This chapter is a tad bit more dramatic than the previous ones (hard to believe, right?) but I was trying to go for a different spin... Let me know what you think! :D

Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

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><p>Chapter 10: A Question of Morals<p>

I'm completely convinced that Princess and Fate are in cahoots with each other. Why else would The Snatchers show up the exact same day that I arrived Eisensturm? And is it merely coincidence that a few hours earlier I happened to lead Princess into a giant mud puddle, splattering her coat? I think not. So when we finally entered that town, I wasn't the least bit surprised when I heard his voice calling my name from across the street.

"Heeeey! Look who it is guys, its good ol' Katherine. How's it going, Kathy?" He sneered, still in the middle of his group as I had seen him about two years ago. He wolf whistled as he approached me. "You're getting prettier everytime I see you. And your friend over here ain't too bad looking neither." He winked at Alex. She ignored him. Just like anyone else with a level head. I suppose that's why I responded to his jibe. It didn't help that he used that old nickname that I despised.

"Buzz off, Zeke. Isn't there a bank you should be robbing somewhere?" I shot back, glaring at him. He hadn't changed all that much. His dirty blonde hair was still spiked up in the same arrogant way along with the cocky smile on his lips. His dark gray eyes still glinted with mischievous intent, taking me back to the first time I'd met him.

It was about two years ago, I was still wandering the globe like I do now. I'd never been a part of a group, but when Zeke approached me it was hard to say no. I was more naïve then and really wanted to see how much my skills had improved when I'd last worked for someone. I especially wanted to show off to his group since they'd heard about me through a military report. It meant that if they accepted me, I'd have access to places all over the land. They had people in every job imaginable; Zeke's group was just a smaller branch. Of course, with his personality he made it sound like they were the most important. He even went as far as to give his group a name, "The Snatchers" since their main job was, obviously, stealing. And that skill happened to be right up my alley. About two or three months later I left the group. Zeke had asked me to kill. I turned him down flat and left. Probably the only reason I was actually able to leave was because he can't perform alchemy. Otherwise I'd still be stuck amongst them to this day.

"Still as feisty as ever I see," he commented, he stepped a little closer. He was a lot taller than I remembered, almost a head taller than me as I glared up at him. I guessed he was about sixteen or seventeen now. "So tell me, you wanna come back now?" He held out his arms as if to embrace me.

"Fat chance. I've got better things to do," I turned my head and took a step before he grabbed my wrist.

"Then give back the key, Kathy," he muttered darkly, only loud enough for me to hear. His group stepped towards me menacingly. I frowned, not really sure what he was talking about. I didn't remember ever stealing anything from him, although, it would've been loads of fun. Darn it, why didn't I think of that before?

I was saved from having to answer by none other than Al. I found the threatening tone in his voice unnatural for him. "Let go of her," he warned.

"Got bodyguards now, Kathy?" he teased, but he did obey Al. He lowered his voice and spoke in Ishbalan. "Damien wants to see you. He says it's important. And if you don't plan on handing over the key right now, you can expect a sleepless night. Stay vigilant." Ah yes, that old saying of his. He'd tell it to anyone who was going out on assignment. I supposed old habits are hard to break. He returned to his group after that, and they all took off down the way we just came from. I only recognized a few friendly faces in there. I supposed some of them were replaced when their skills didn't match the assignment. The only one I regretted not talking to as they left was Carter. He was good to me when I was with them.

"Who were they, Katie?" Al asked from behind me. It took me a few seconds for me to respond. I still wasn't use to the new nickname. No one had ever addressed me by it before, but I was starting to like it.

"Just people I used to work with," I said simply. They, especially Al, didn't need to get mixed up with them.

"I don't remember ever making a death threat to Ed," Alex commented.

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Yeah!" Ed asked, confused as to why he was suddenly dragged into this.

"It sounded like he was threatening to kill you when he spoke in Ishbalan. And his little friends seemed angry as well."

I blinked, wanting to smack myself. I had completely forgotten about what Zeke had said in a span of ten seconds? That was a new record, even for me! What had distracted me so badly…? I looked over at Al as he nodded in agreement with Alex. My eyes widened as the reason dawned on me. No way… I couldn't feel that way about Al. I didn't make many friends, much less… I shook my head, clearing my thoughts of him.

"Look, I'll be back, there's someone I need to talk to," I told them.

"No way, Katherine. They might attack you. We'll come with you," Ed said, actually serious for once.

I laughed at the idea. "Don't worry, I know all his tricks and this town like the back of my hand. And besides, no one can catch me. Watch Princess for me, will you? See ya!" I took off before they could stop me but I heard Alex mutter "This coming from the girl who forgot about the scar on her right hand."

'Thanks for the confidence, Alex,' I thought to myself. I glanced down at my right hand. The scar extended from the base of my pointer finger down to my wrist. I had actually gotten this scar one night while working with Carter on an assignment. He specialized in traps and tracking. Unfortunately I stumbled upon on of his traps during the assignment. It would've killed me if he hadn't pulled me from it, only leaving me with a cut on my hand and him one across his right cheek. I still felt bad about that incident. I left the group before I could ever make it up to him.

Finally I reached Damien's house at the other end of town, greeting the little black dog, Streak, when he walked up to me, wagging his tail.

"You've gotten older, mister," I said cheerfully as I rubbed his belly, remembering him as a puppy.

"So have you, Katherine," A deep voice said from the front door.

I looked up and smiled at the old man, Damien. He used to help me out from time to time. He had a lot of influence on the military and the town since he's a retired state alchemist. I always used to tease him about hiding someone who stole from the military. But his response was always the same: "I am only giving the military what it deserves, nothing more and nothing less."

I entered the house and sat at the table as he made some tea. He placed the cup in front of me, sitting across the table. He watched me for a second as I took a sip before he spoke.

"I've poisoned your cup, Katherine," he said casually, as if he were talking about the weather. My eyes widened as I pulled the cup from my lips when I was about to take another sip. "I've got the antidote right here." He showed me a tiny bottle in his right hand. "I have something I want you to do. And you have the right to refuse, but I'm afraid it might mean your death."

"You crazy old man!" I shouted, standing up from the table. It didn't surprise me that he'd done something like this; he was from the military after all. It just infuriated me that he'd poisoned ME.

"I wouldn't get too worked up if I were you, it might make the poison spread faster in your bloodstream," he advised, not an emotion crossing his face. He might end up killing me and he didn't even have the decency to feel something about it! "There is someone I want you to find for me. Her name is Dahlia. She has something that many people are looking for, including the military. Zeke had it in his possession about two years ago. Now it is believed that this girl has it."

I glared at him. "Anything else, your majesty?"

He finally formed a crooked smile. "It's good to maintain a sense of humor in times of peril, it might just save your life."

"If I tell you a few knock-knock jokes and do a little dance, will you give me the bottle?" I said sarcastically, noticing that Alex was rubbing off on me a little.

"Don't push your luck Katherine. I might just ask Zeke to do this for me, despite how incompetent he may be," he warned. Then he continued. "I want you to find her, get the key, kill her-"

"No," I interrupted.

"Ah yes, that's right. I forgot that you're a thief that actually has morals."

"I'm not a thief!" I yelled.

"And is in denial," he grinned at me. "Alright, if you won't end a life, I will." He paused, considering me. "It would be just terrible for a young one to die before his life as even started, wouldn't you agree?"

"What are you playing at, Damien?" I demanded.

"Estelle, please bring Junior in here, will you?" he called out, leaning against the back of his chair.

"No!" I shouted at him, tears beginning to form in my eyes. "No! He's only five years old! Leave him alone!" The little boy was lead out into the room, holding hands with a girl a few years older than me. She had golden blonde hair that seemed oh so familiar.

"Well then, what about her?" he asked, bringing out a gun and pointing it at Estelle's head. "I'm not sure if you're privy to this knowledge, Katherine. But this is Terra's older sister. What a reunion that would be, getting to see your old friend and having to tell her that her sister was murdered before your very eyes and you didn't raise a finger to save her."

"Why are you doing this, Damien? I thought you were my friend! I thought you wanted to help people!" I shouted.

"Wrong, my dear. I want to stop the military from destroying this land, and I'm afraid this is the only way I can get your assistance. Now, tell me, what is your answer? And I would suggest not taking too long to choose because this poison works quickly. I'll spare you the details of it."

I could feel the effects it was already causing my body. I looked at the two hostages, gazed at Junior's tear-stained face and noticed all the familiar features I saw on Estelle that reminded me of Terra. I couldn't attack Damien. He's too smart for that. He'd either shoot one of them first or destroy the antidote before I could even touch him.

Others can call me whatever they want, "thief" or "criminal". But I'm not a murderer. 'I don't kill people… I don't kill people…. I don't kill people…' I kept telling myself. But there was no way out, no way out of this…

"Kathewine," I heard a small voice say. That's when it happened. My morals vanished, my heart froze, and I accepted his deal.

I, Katherine B., am a murderer.

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><p>Amaya: Review time! Ready and... GO! :D<p> 


	11. A New Enemy Rekindles Painful Memories

Amaya: We're getting close to the last chapter that Hazuki and I have actually written. *dramatic music* Enjoy this lovely one, filled with action and a BATTLE SCENE! Woo! :D

Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

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><p>Chapter Eleven: A New Enemy Rekindles Painful Memories<p>

A month and a half later, no news about anything from Katherine. That idiot probably went off and got herself killed. Sure, I didn't mind taking care of Princess. I didn't mind riding her horse and traveling without her. But some part of my mind was truly and unmistakably worried. Al showed his anxiety, practically dragging me and Ed around to find her. He would always hold the deck of cards she had given him, occasionally flipping through them.

"It's been six weeks," Ed whispered to me, glancing at Al. "I wish he would stop moping."

"He's depressed. He was kind of close to her," I said.

"Yeah, but…I just hate seeing him this messed up. I've never seen him like this before."

I sighed lightly. "Ed, just give him some more time. He'll come around," I assured him before standing up. "Hey, Al."

"Why did she have to leave?" he asked. "Why couldn't she let me go with her?"

Though his back was to me, I could tell that Al was still highly on the impossible verge of tears. "Al…" I rested my hand on his cold metal shoulder. His armor and Ed's auto mail began to cool down each day with the fall weather. October surely was a month of beautiful leaves, but I couldn't take time to enjoy it. I had to watch over the Elric brothers, especially Al. He was such a wreck… "We'll see her again soon."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Woman's intuition," I answered, smiling as he finally turned to look at me. "I meant to ask you something, but I seemed to have forgotten."

"If you remember, I'll be here," Al replied.

_Ugh, how much _further? I asked myself. Al convinced Ed to continue the search for Katherine, just one more day until we all surrendered. Although I was riding Princess, a horse's saddle rubbing against your inner thighs isn't exactly what anyone would call comfortable. There was something off about Princess. Around me, she wasn't as feisty as she was with Katherine. However, she was in the same boat as Al with sadness, apparently depressed about her master's disappearance.

"Al, I don't think she's here," Ed finally commented after we had circled the same patch of trees for the third time.

"Nonsense, Brother!" Al said. "She must be here!"

"Al, we would've noticed her if she was here." Ed stopped walking and crossed his arms, following his brother's movements with his eyes.

With a sigh, Al gave up, hanging his head in defeat. "It's not fair. It's just not fair."

"I know it isn't," Ed agreed. "But we can't waste anymore time trying to find her. We need to get back on track before Colonel Sarcasm pays us a visit."

I giggled to myself. "Is that a first name basis for you and Roy? Colonel Sarcasm and an insult to your height?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ed said, his brow twitching.

My hand flew up to cover my mouth as I attempted to stifle my laughter. "Sorry, Ed."

I could almost, quite literally, see the steam rolling off of his head. Man, I'm glad I'm not that sensitive about my height. Of course, I am a few inches taller than Ed. Most people were. _Be nice, Alex,_ I told myself. I jumped off of Princess and meandered over to Ed and Al.

"Look, let's just take a break here and figure out where to go next," Ed decided.

"Fine with me. My legs are killing me," I added.

"How are your legs killing you?"

"You ride a horse as an inexperienced rider, Ed. The leather from the saddle has been rubbing into my skin all day." I scrunched my nose, demonstrating my discomfort.

"I thought you said that you've ridden horses," Al said.

"When I was younger, yes. It's not that I don't know _how_, it's just that my legs aren't attuned to the leather," I responded.

"Oh. Are you alright?" Al questioned.

"I'm fine. It's just a little sore. Nothing that waiting it out can't fix," I promised. _And loose pants_, I added silently. Thank goodness I had a pair on.

As I was about to carefully flop down on the dry grass, the clouds finally released all of the retained rain. Cold, heavy droplets fell from the sky, dowsing my thoughts and my clothes. I sighed, wishing that I had some type of hat to protect my head from the icy water. My hand instinctively reached for my water ring, twisting it around to help me detect anything under the rain, just in case Katherine snuck up on us. I also allowed my alchemy power to flow through my ring of lightning, and even though it was too late in the year for a thunderstorm, whoever said that I couldn't make one?

A rush of wind tore through the area, forcing the rain to fall at a hard slant. It was so sudden and drastic that it didn't settle too well with me. I drowned out Ed and Al's conversation and focused on the rain; its rhythm, its temperature, its location when it hit the earth. I temporarily became one with the rain, descending upon the earth like every single drop that fell from the sky. Three forms were somewhere off to our right, scouting the area while coming closer to us. Another surge of wind attacked us, sliding me across the clearing as I tried to protect my eyes.

One final gust tore through the trees, whipping at the three of us before the three figures appeared in the "eye" of the storm.

"That's good enough, Kasey," a feminine voice instructed, barely audible over the howling wind.

Finally, the gray-white air turned invisible once again as nature regained control over the wind patterns. I glanced down at my body, now covered in small cuts from the dangerous wind speeds and debris that had probably found my skin. My eyes burned from all of the dust that had been hewn around, but I still kept them open, now locked on the group across the clearing.

All three of the people were girls, all different in appearance and a rather mismatched group (but then again, so were we). The girl on the left had an unnatural shade of long purple hair and a pair of sharp, ruthless eyes. She looked like she could wipe out a league of men with just a cold stare, but to me, she would be a fair match. On the right was a redhead, her hair lengthy curls tucked in a headband. Her frosted green eyes betrayed her clumsiness and shyness, hidden behind her light pink glasses. Then, the last girl shocked me. Chestnut-brown locks, like mine, covered her head and cut off at her chin. She had beige skin, like me, though it looked darker under the overcast. The only true difference that I could distinguish was her amber eyes, whereas mine were sapphire blue. _No way!_

"Are you the Elric brothers?" the one in the middle asked, piercing us with her gaze.

"So what if we are?" Ed challenged.

"Hmph. I was told to look for the Fullmetal shrimp and his tin can of a brother," she continued.

That line! I heard it from…from…from that letter! The one that I found in my mother's flower shop ruins! I pulled it out of my pocket and unfolded it. Sure enough, there was the line that she had partially recited.

"What did you say?" Ed's anger flared up, but this time, I couldn't blame him.

"Hah! Don't make me laugh, hotshot," the purple haired girl said.

"You—"

"Wait," I interjected, placing my hand in front of him. "Hey, pipsqueak!" I stared at the middle form, watching her head snap in my direction. "Look familiar?" I tossed the folded paper like a Frisbee, and the redhead pushed her hands upward, propelling the letter over to her companion.

"Dahlia, what is it?" the redhead asked.

"It's…it's nothing, Kasey," Dahlia responded, jamming the letter into her pocket.

"I told you not to get mixed up with that common State Alchemist wretch!" the purple haired girl snapped.

"Lana, you shouldn't be so cruel," the girl named Kasey said quietly.

"You sent a letter to a pathetic little—"

"Will you get off my back, Lana?" Dahlia growled. "It was for those stupid things that we had to steal."

"You're too softhearted, Dahlia."

"Dahlia? Is that what you go by?" I asked.

Dahlia looked up at me, confusion in her eyes.

"Or should I call you by your original name, D.H.?"

"Original name?" Kasey questioned. She looked at her friend. "Dahlia?"

"Dahlia isn't her real name, isn't that right, Dana Halligan?" I narrowed my eyes.

Dahlia looked away, clenching her fists tightly. "Guess that nothing could escape you, could it, Alexa?"

"Not even you." I had to close my eyes to keep myself from breaking down into tears. "I have hunted for your murderer for three years, and for what? To see you, like you're back from the grave?"

"That's not even the best part, is it, Dahlia?" I heard Lana say.

"Lana, don't make this any worse," Dahlia whispered.

"Go ahead, tell her what else you did!" Lana encouraged with a cynical tone.

"What else you did?" Kasey said softly. "Dahlia, what did you do?"

"Tell the world!"

Dahlia looked me in the eyes, her own emotionless expression horrifying. "You know how our father was killed by an alchemist?"

I nodded slowly.

"He was trying to revive me, since he knew I wasn't really dead. And when I came to, I thought he was an enemy, and my alchemy was out of control…" Dahlia's eyes touched the ground for a moment before relocating me. "And Mom. I had direct orders to burn her pathetic flower shop. Unfortunately, you weren't in it."

I couldn't tell if Dahlia was truly hurt by what she had done or if she was so heartless that it didn't affect her, but there was one thing that I did know. This was _not_ my sister.

"And now you have direct orders to destroy that duo of destruction," Lana said, nodding towards Ed and Al.

"Of course…"

"Kasey, why don't you mess with the wind again?" Lana suggested.

"O-of course," Kasey stuttered. She held her hands up, drawing invisible circles in the air. The torrential rain fell diagonally again as the wind whipped at the three of us. I pushed my left hand up over my head, aiming it towards the darkened sky. I channeled electricity out of my body, sending a beam of lightning racing to the clouds. White light was shadowed in the sky, but it still creating what I wanted: a lightning storm. Streaks of it danced in the dark clouds, spiraling around each other like a snake would its prey. I jerked my left hand down, simulating the affect that I needed. The lightning complied, streaking towards the ground at the center of this new trio's location. The wind fell as the three girls broke up and regrouped further back. Lana's dark hair was blown away from her neck, revealing a red mark on her skin, a mark only found on a homunculus.

"Brother, she's a homunculus!" Al pointed out.

"Yeah, I can see that," Ed said.

I made my hands form a circle, keeping each palm and fingertip away from the others. Water swirled out of my ring and into the restricted spherical area I had provided. Then, lightning accompanied the water, tracing the outer layers with a crackling jolt. This was my power ball, my favorite attack, my winner-take-all move. I turned to my right side, giving the electricity a little more water to chew on before hurling the ball at Dahlia. A wall of earth sprung up out of the ground, preventing my attack from reaching Dahlia. Instead, it blasted a hole five feet wide in the center of the wall, causing the defensive mechanism to crumble.

Dahlia didn't make any moves to really attack. She just stood there, staring at the ground. Finally, she looked up at me, her eyes filled with pure rage. "I'll put you in your place, Alexa!"

"Go right ahead!" I growled, running at her with water surrounding my fist. Dahlia took my example, coming towards me at full speed, her right hand balled up, hanging behind her. Earth seemed to encase her hand, cloaking her punch with rock. Our hands collided, knuckle to knuckle, water to earth, older sister to younger sister. The water I had took on a sharper approach, mutating so that it had spikes branching out of its sides. It sliced the rock a bit before the force of our impact threw us both backwards. I flipped in the air and managed to place my feet against the ground, leaning my weight forward and placing my hand against the ground as I slid. I regained my balance and started to run at Dahlia again, when two forms stepped in front of me.

"Alex, do you always fight on impulse?" a familiar voice asked.

"Katherine?"

The young man beside Katherine glanced back at me. "Hn. Let's see, two cute state alchemists and a cool lookin' suit of armor against the Doomsday Trio? That's a little unfair. How about a really awesome guy and a really short girl against the Doomsday Trio?"

Lana sneered at the boy, rolling her eyes and redirecting her heartless irises at Katherine. "Well, well, well, look at what the cat dragged in. If it isn't our pathetic little Alchemy Thief, Katherine B. It's been _far_ too long, street rat."

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><p>Amaya: *sniff* Street rat? Now that's just hurtful! :( Review to comfort poor Katherine? :D Or... I guess you could agree with Lana too if you really think she's a street rat... ^_^; And who is this mysterious man with Katherine? Update coming soon!<p> 


	12. Old Friends and Enemies

Amaya: Well, *sniffs* this is the last chapter that was written out by me a year ago. So if you tend to enjoy my chapters, this is the last one you'll read for a while, sorry! :( If Hazuki and I can find the time and interest to finish this story we will, but don't expect anything until at least around Christmas. Don't worry though, there's still Hazuki's last chapter for next week! :D

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Chapter 12: Old Friends and Enemies

"You know, I don't remember you being this sullen two years ago," Carter spoke aloud. I closed my eyes, knowing the start of a rant was upon me. "What are you, twelve now? What could you possibly have to be upset about? Did someone steal your doll?"

"I'm fourteen," I responded, trying my best not to provoke him even more. He was angry, which was an emotion he rarely showed. And when it did, it was hard to tell.

I refused to tell him any more than that I was looking for a girl named Dahlia and needed his help. But he didn't ask for anything other information. He was always good about that, he kept his nose out of things until it was absolutely necessary to know.

He glanced over at me as I navigated through a particularly thick patch of bushes. I tried my best to ignore him, giving the shrubbery more attention than was needed. Unfortunately, it's pretty much impossible to ignore Carter. He'll do something incredibly bizarre just to get someone to look-

"I'm madly in love with you Kay," he said from behind me.

I whirled around to look at him and when I saw the humor in his sky blue eyes and the stupid grin spread across his face, I knew I had fallen for another one of his tricks.

"You know, you're the only one I can do that to," he commented, chattering away. "If I did that to one of the guys I'd probably get killed. It's nice to have a new victim for a change."

"You are such a pain!" I shouted at him, but when the laughter didn't leave his face I found I couldn't fight the small smile spreading across my lips. But then I heard Junior calling my name in my head again and it was wiped away as quickly as it came. I saw Carter's face fall at this and his eyes were suddenly full of concern.

"It took me six weeks just to get you to smile, Kay," he murmured. "The last time you were like this Terra-"

"Come on, we're not going to get anything done just by standing here," I interrupted, not wanting that memory to float to my mind again. "And I told you to drop the nickname."

"I'm hoping if I say it enough, it'll bring her back," he responded quietly.

"_Terra?" I called out weakly, trying to stop the gushing blood coming from my stomach. I peered into the darkness of the room I was in, trying to make something out. "Terra? Where are you?" Suddenly I realized where I was. It was five years ago, I was in my small, nine-year old body again, and I was scared out of my mind. _

_A gunshot went off somewhere nearby, followed by a bloody scream. "TERRA!" I screeched. "TERRA! Don't do it! They'll kill you!" _

_Then there was laughter in the dark room, an evil laugh that made my skin crawl. "You're a foolish girl, Katherine B. Her fate was determined the day I came back. She dug her own grave, with her own foolish dreams of the future. Now die!" _

_Suddenly there was pain, pain flooding through my body. Terra's face flashed before my eyes, grinning with her kind eyes sparkling, telling me things that inspired me and gave me hope. But then her face turned cruel, her eyes coal black, her auburn hair grew and turned dark, an unnatural color. And I screamed her name one more time before everything went black. _

"Kay," a rough hand had a hold of my arm and was shaking me. "Kay, you're having a nightmare."

I sat up with a start, looking all around me wildly before my eyes finally settle on Carter's worried ones. "It was Terra again, wasn't it?" I stared at him, my mind not working, not quite understanding what he said until a minute later.

"Yeah…" I answered softly. I stood up looking at the rising sun, trying to shake off the fear I felt. It took a few seconds before I finally worked up the nerve to ask a question that had been bugging me for years. "Carter… Do you think she's dead?"

"A tough girl like her?" he laughed to himself. "Kay, even the devil himself was afraid of her. You really think a few thugs would be able to take her down? Nah, I think she's just biding her time for something. I'm not sure what, but I trust her judgement." He looked down at me and smiled. "Hey, isn't your birthday this week?"

I blinked in surprise, Carter's randomness catching me off guard again. "Um, yeah. I think it is."

"Don't worry," he assured me. "No matter how old you get, you'll always be a brat to me."

I rolled my eyes. "Thank you _so _much. And no presents this year, okay? I'm not really interested in getting another pet rat," I instructed as I began walking west.

"Aww, come on. Cheddar loved you!" he teased, catching up with me.

"Yeah, I always express my love by passing diseases through biting," I said sarcastically, painfully reminding me of someone else who would say something like that.

"He did that for your own good," Carter insisted. "It was his way of warning you of the snake by your feet."

I silently thanked that creature for taking the life of my _pet_ two years ago. Otherwise I would've had Carter on my back about animal abuse when I left the thing in the sewer where he "rescued" it.

We walked for the rest of the morning with Carter changing direction at what almost seemed randomly. But I trusted his tracking skills. He could probably find a wooly mammoth if he really wanted to. I didn't even know how he knew what to look for since I didn't know anything about this person other than her name. I was starting to suspect that he knew more than he was letting on.

We found them during late afternoon while it was raining buckets, soaking us to the bone. I could tell the tracking was over by the way Carter hadn't called me out on my drowned cat appearance. I wondered if he was worried about fighting. He was an excellent hand to hand fighter, but his alchemy skills were lacking. And to make matters worse he had to draw transmutation circles. Those few precious seconds taken to draw it could mean his death.

We watched the people in silence from behind a bunch of trees growing close together. I felt fear strike me for the second time today when my eyes settled on one of the three females standing together. The dark eyes and the purple hair… I quickly looked away, not wanting to think anymore about my dream.

I didn't recognize the red headed girl or the one who looked like… Alex? I glanced at the other group of people in the area, clearly seeing Alex standing with the Elric brothers. Was this girl her sister?

"Did you hear that, Kay?" Carter whispered from beside me. "The girl in the middle goes by Dahlia."

I gazed at Dahlia, my target… my victim. Her features were so familiar after spending a few months with Alex. Would it seem like I was killing Alex if I went after this girl? Could I live with myself if I went through with this?

"I'll put you in your place Alexa!" Dahlia shouted.

"Go right ahead," Alex responded. They ran at each other. It seemed to me like they were fighting to kill. A small, awful part of me hoped that Alex would do my job for me. But I think the guilt of standing by and doing nothing would be worse.

"What's the verdict, chief?" Carter asked. It comforted and scared me that he would back me up no matter what I chose to do.

"We need to help the side with the short blonde guy," I finally decided. "They're… friends. Their safety is more important right now." I eyed the purple haired girl warily. "Look out for her especially, Carter. She's dangerous."

"Roger."

We ran out and stood in between the two groups, facing the three girls.

"Do you always fight on impulse?"

"Katherine?"

I saw Carter out of the corner of my eye look back and survey the people we'd be helping.

"Hn. Let's see, two cute state alchemists and a cool lookin' suit of armor against the Doomsday Trio? That's a little unfair. How about a really awesome guy and a really short girl against the Doomsday Trio?"

I smirked a bit at the comment, Carter was being ridiculous as usual. The purple-haired girl sneered at Carter, not quite enjoying his sense of humor as much as I did. She finally locked her sights on me, "Well, well, well, look at what the cat dragged in. If it isn't our pathetic little Alchemy Thief, Katherine B. It's been _far_ too long, street rat."

I looked down at the ground, ignoring her comment and focusing on keeping my cool. I could hear Al calling my name behind me, but I blocked it out after a while.

"I'm glad to see you at least remember how my powers work, stupid girl. Now I'll finally finish off what I started five years ago. Dahlia, Kasey, you _will _stay out of my fight with her," her commanding voice said from across the clearing.

"I have someone else to deal with," I heard Dahlia say bitterly.

Before any of them could make a move, I summoned my strength and caused a giant rock wall to rise out of the ground, standing about thirty feet tall and stretched to either side of the clearing.

"We're running," I told the group, having only decided that about a second ago.

"Who died and made you Queen?" Alex spat at me. She was more furious than I'd ever seen her before. "I still have something to settle."

"Look, just trust me. That woman with the purple hair-"

"_Trust_ you? Katherine, you left without a word. You practically broke Al's heart, put Princess in a depression and had us worried about you for practically two months. This is practically unforgivable!"

I winced at the words she threw at me, they cut me deep. "I'm sorry, really I am. But now is not the time to fight! We have to leave." I looked to Carter for support. He nodded gravely.

"I've heard of Kasey and Dahlia's powers, they're strong," he informed them.

"So am I!" Alex shot back. She opened her mouth to say more, but Ed placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We should listen to them for now," he reasoned. It must be the end of the world if Ed is calming down Alex of all people. "We need more information on them if we want to fight them."

This conversation was taking too long. I was surprised that they hadn't attacked us yet. It frightened me even more than a head on strike.

"Fine," Alex finally conceded. She hopped up on Princess and began to leave the area with Ed, Al following them after a few seconds.

"Well, let's go!" Carter said cheerfully, grabbing my wrist. "I can't wait to speak properly to your friends about what a nuisance you are."

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><p>Amaya: I have to say, Carter is probably my favorite among all of the OC's I have created. I mean, who doesn't love a good sense of humor? ^_^ What do you guys think about him? What'd you think of the chapter? Let me know in a review! :D<p> 


	13. Carter and a Bitter Warped Memory

Amaya: Alright... *sniffles* this is the last chapter we have written for this story. And I'm not too sure if we'll ever try to finish it... :( But for right now, I'll just say it's going to be put on a hiatus. You may not see this story have chapters written for it in the future, but we will write more! I promise! :D Be on the lookout! But, for now, enjoy Hazuki's last chapter of the story. :)

Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

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><p>Chapter Thirteen: Carter and a Bitter Warped Memory<p>

I never realized how much of my strength and energy I had wasted until Princess took over walking for me. My head would drop, then I'd have to look up at the sky to shock my face with cold water, trying to wake myself up. Ed would occasionally glance back at me, whether it was to make sure I was okay or still alive, I didn't know. To tell you the truth, Princess was steering herself, following the four people in front of us.

"Okay, we're here," Carter announced.

I looked up, not even knowing where the quartet was taking me until I saw it. A cozy little cabin was in front of me, nestled in between some trees and other random vegetation. Though it appeared to be empty, Carter went to the front door and unlocked it, motioning for all of us to come inside. Princess found a halfway dry place under a thick canopy and waited there, neighing before we entered the house.

Carter lit a fire in the hearth, instantly brightening the room and slowly warming it. I removed my shoes by the door while pulling Ed's jacket further over my arms. My clothes were completely drenched; I began to feel bad about having to sit on Carter's furniture wet. Katherine was already in the chair closest to the fire, her back to it. The other spot would be absolutely heavenly for a soaked teenage girl: the end seat on the couch that was right next to the fireplace. I hurried over and took the opportunity, stealing the perfect seat before anyone else could.

Heat. My new best friend. I aimed my palms towards the scarlet flames, focusing on every single crackle and pop. I sighed, in a temporary state of comfort.

"So, did I tell you that Katherine and I are engaged?" Carter began.

"WHAT?" both Katherine and Al shouted, though Al's voice wasn't quite as angry and loud as Katherine's.

I giggled lightly. "Tell me, when is the wedding?"

"DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM!" Katherine barked. "CARTER, I'M NOT MARRYING YOU, I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH YOU, SO SHUT IT."

Al seemed to regain his composure after hearing this bit of reassurance, leaning back slightly in his chair.

I slid Ed's jacket away from my body and draped it across the arm of the couch, hoping that the heat would quickly dry it. My hair was also pulled over to the left side of my neck, my hopes to rid myself of being damp very evident.

"So, how did a couple of State Alchemists end up with our favorite dramatic diva?" Carter asked.

No one really spoke, but Katherine was muttering under her breath. "I needed to find her," I finally answered.

"What for? A pretty jewel catch your eye?"

"No. I'm a State Alchemist. That should be an explanation in and of itself." I ran my fingers through my darker locks, mixing the dried hair with the wet.

"How much does one have to steal before you go after them?" Carter questioned.

"A decent amount," I replied.

"Good, so I'm not on your radar then!" he happily said, winking at me.

I blinked a few times at the gesture. With a sigh, I shook my head. Was he always this cheerful? I was very surprised that Katherine hadn't shot him yet. Surely someone of her…more morose standing couldn't get along with someone like Carter…could she?

"Let me get something straight," Carter began. He tapped his finger against his chin. "You're Dahlia's sister, right?"

"…yes," I answered quietly.

"Wait a second! You were about to kill each other," Carter whispered. "Good thing we stepped in…"

"I wanted to finish what I started, not be interrupted. I was doing just fine on my own."

Carter turned to Katherine. "Is she always this proud?"

"I'm afraid so," she said.

"Hey!" I could almost see my own eyebrow twitching in annoyance. "Look, kid, what I do with my own sister is between me and her."

"Kid? KID?" Carter gave me a wide eyed look. "I'll have you know that I'm the oldest person in here!"

"Not by much," I mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"So, since I am the oldest, it gives me the privilege to attack any one of you at any random moment," he declared.

I rolled my eyes, the need for sleep finally setting in. My energy was being replenished, and keeping my eyes open only used more of it. I pulled my knees onto the couch and rested my head on Ed's shoulder. I could've sworn that Carter was snickering at my movement, but I couldn't tell through my closed eyes.

_Two sweet, carefree amber eyes watched me. "C'mon, Alexa! You promised!"_

_"Alright, alright!" I said. "Goodness, child!"_

_"Come on! I wanna play!"_

_"Okay, give me a minute," I replied, grabbing a basket to pick the fruit that grew in the wild. "Don't forget that we have to get the blackberries for Mother."_

_"I won't!" she cheered, spinning in circles as she waited for me to come. When I finally closed the back door behind me, she rolled her eyes with a smile. "Man, Alexa, you take too long."_

_"Oh, really?" I held the basket tightly as I began to chase after her in our backyard. We giggled as I finally caught her, dropping the basket to scoop her up and twirl her around. When I put her down, we fell back on the grass, admiring the beautiful blue sky._

_"Hey, Alexa?"_

_"Hmm?"_

_"What would you do if I told you that you're the best sister in the whole wide world?"_

_I leaned on my elbow, looking over at her. "I'd say that you're the best little sister ever, Dana!"_

_"Yay!" she happily chirped._

_We relaxed in the sunlight for about an hour, working on the tan that we didn't have. Finally, I stood and stretched. "Come on, Dana, we have to get back on track."_

_"But I don't wanna."_

_My shadow covered her body as I stood in front of her, blocking out the sunlight. "Dana, we have to get going, honey. Mother is expecting us home soon."_

_Dana pushed off of the ground to throw a sort of tantrum. "Alexa, I'm not finished playing."_

_"Honey, we still have to get the blackberries for Mother."_

_"I don't wanna!" Dana shouted, a white light surrounding her body. The glow disappeared, and I saw my sister change. Her once long, flowing hair was cut, seeming to restrain her kindness. The locks fell to the ground, shattering into a million white pieces. She grew in height, still about two inches shorter than me. Her body matured, too, and her face hardened. The thing that had changed the most were her beautifully jovial eyes. They were full of things I had never seen her exhibit: rage, hate, fury. Things that Dana Halligan should never have needed. "I'm not going anywhere, Alexa," her bitter voice stated._

_My body froze. "D-Dana?"_

_"Die, Alexandra." She quickly jabbed me in the stomach, somehow placing a golf ball sized hole in my skin. "And to think, I actually looked up to you. I wanted to live life like you did. But no more. Now and forever, I will no longer happily call you my sister." Dana created a sword out of earth, the tip of it somehow glittering in the overcast. She drew her arm back, then the sword came at me._

My own fear woke me up, forcing me completely upright. I was breathing heavy, eyes wide open, unsure of where I was.

"Alex?"

I looked over to my right, finding Ed's confused and concerned face watching me.

"Are you alright?"

I nodded, resting my hand against my head, driving my fingers into my hair. "Just a dream," I whispered.

"You don't look so hot," Carter said.

"You're saying I'm not as adorable as I was ten minutes ago?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows.

"Man, don't back me into a corner!"

I giggled. "Oh, I'm just teasing. Besides, a dream is a dream, nothing more." _Except when they're manipulated by memories._ I yawned obnoxiously. "So, what've I missed?"

"Rain, rain, sleet, and more rain," Carter cheerily mused.

"Oh, goody. Is there more rain in the forecast?" Katherine asked.

"How the heck should I know? I'm just the guy that sets traps, not the weatherman!"

Katherine sneezed and sniffled, rubbing her nose with her shirt sleeve. "I. Hate. Rain."

Carter poked Katherine's arm. "Aw, is little Kay getting a little cold?"

"No," Katherine said with a slightly congested voice.

"I think you are," Carter disregarded her answer.

"I'll be fine," Katherine growled flatly.

"Hey, Katherine," I said.

"What?"

"You know something about Lana that we don't."

"Lana?" she asked.

"That homunculus from earlier," I corrected.

"Oh, her…"

"How dangerous is she?"

"A very good question. And if you were the person I felt like talking to, I'd tell you," she snapped, more cranky than she usually was. Of course, when most people are sick, they do tend to be crabby.

"Okay, okay. If you don't want to answer, then fine. But what were you guys doing there, anyways? I had everything under control."

"You said 'I'," Katherine mentioned. "No one was helping you. At least, not at the time. But, we were…tracking you guys."

A lie. She had the nerve to look me in the eyes and lie. I let it go…for now. When we were actually able to speak with some form of privacy, I'd address her about it then. But, for now, I had to hold my tongue. I'd had enough blowups and enough of losing my cool for one year.

"So, Katherine, how's life been for the past six weeks? We haven't heard a thing from you since you left," I reminded her.

She sighed. "It's been tedious. What about you guys?"

"We haven't done a thing. Nothing but search, search, and —what else? — search."

"Look, I don't need a lecture," she stated.

"That's not what I had planned on delivering, especially not after taking a nap. Maybe when I've regained more of my energy and have the power to back me up." I shrugged. "Maybe. But, until then, I was just asking about life."

Katherine huffed, whether it was in annoyance or satisfaction with not getting a lecture, I didn't know. "I've been busy."

"Oh, yeah, me too," I agreed.

"Don't start on me, State Alchemist," she growled.

"Look, I've had a really long day, and it's hardly past lunch. So the more you don't get on my nerves, the better. And besides, I wasn't talking about searching for you, though that did fill a good portion of my day."

"Whatever," Katherine ended our conversation for me, turning her head in the opposite direction that I was in. She seemed to be angry at something, and if it wasn't me, then she needed to see someone about her anger issues. I rolled my eyes and looked back at the warm, welcoming fire. I stared at the dancing flames, seeing a symbol of heat and light. Fire was helpful, it didn't burn things on purpose. But, as I gaped even more at it, the more I saw the destruction that someone like Roy could muster and control, the more I could see forests burning as the fires spread on the once lush canopies, the more I saw my mother's sweet and innocent flower shop burning because of my sister, my newest, and worst, enemy.

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><p>Amaya: Sorry for leaving you guys in such a terrible spot... :(<p>

MitsuGirls: Until we see you again, fellow fanfiction readers, we wish you well!

*Amaya* ~Hazuki~


	14. A Message to Our Readers

Amaya: Hey guys! Sorry, no this isn't another chapter to the story. :( I'm just wanted to let you guys know what we'll be doing for the next couple of months concerning fanfiction.

Unfortunately there won't be any stories put up here for a while, but Hazuki and I plan on working on one in the next couple of months so if you want to know about it I suggest you put us on your author alert.

As of right now, we have discussed either:

1. trying to pick up where we left off with this story (I highly doubt this will happen, but we may become inspired enough to do so)

2. writing another FMA story with similar OC's but have it take place in the storyline of Brotherhood instead

3. continue working on the Kingdom Hearts story we started back in July (PM us if you want to know more about it, we might put up the first chapter soon.)

What do you guys think? We'd love to hear your opinions in a review for this "chapter". I value your opinions (I'm sure Hazuki does too! ...except maybe that one flamer) and may take them in consideration for what we do next. So let us know! :D

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><p><em>But in the meantime... I will do shameless advertising for my own story!<em> :D

For all you Tales of Symphonia fans, come read The Chosen's Weakness by KristyStar (y'know, me ;) ). It's a ZelosXOC story so if you don't like OC's don't read it... but since you guys read our story I'm assuming you like OCs. ^_^; It'll be from Zelos's point of view in some chapters and the OC's in the others, I may throw in other characters from time to time. Please Read and Review it! :D

Also, I may end up doing a short oneshot with FMA, I've had an idea for a while that I want to get out, so maybe I will. :)

(For you rare Fragile Dream players, I also have an idea brewing in my head for that game too. Keep an eye on my account if you're interested.) IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED FRAGILE DREAMS AND HAVE A WII GO BUY IT RIGHT NOW AND PLAY IT! XD Okay... you don't have to... but it's pretty awesome. :)

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><p>Hey, guys! It's Hazuki, finally on here and not using Amaya to carry her messages. C= Anyways, I really appreciate all of the helpful tidbits of advice that have been taken into consideration! :D I would advertise on here, but I don't currently have any active stories that I'm working on (well, at least, not ones that I wouldn't mind marketing for money by publishing them ;D). I hope you might go on my profile and check out what I've concocted so far. XD Thanks!<p>

~Hazuki~


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